The Ghostly Titan II: The Order Of Apparitions
by RayRox360
Summary: Five months have passed since Slade was defeated and things are starting to go back to normal in Jump. That is until more and more ghosts start appearing and a name makes its way to the Titans. The Order of Apparitions. What does this group have to do with the sudden ghost activity? And why do they seem fixated on Danny and Robin?
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

* * *

 **Amity Park**

 **The Masters Mansion**

Vlad smirked as he waked through the lab, prints in hand. He turned to stare into the portal for a moment before setting the papers down on the counter. He narrowed his eyes as he began to skim over the papers, following every word as he moved from page to page, print to print.

"Are they to your liking?" A voice asked from the corner of the room.

Vlad stared at the words for a moment longer before turning back to the man. "Yes...yes these will work just fine." He smirked as he read over the information on the papers once more. "Tell, me. Have you begun to assemble them yet?" Vlad asked as he began to write something down on a separate piece of paper.

"I have. Though they are likely to ask who this mysterious man that is asking for their service is. What do I tell them?" The voice asked.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Tell them nothing yet. After all, they aren't of any use to me yet. It will take some time before this plan is foolproof. Once it is complete, then they will be called upon and I will reveal myself to them. Until then, keep them in the dark." He instructed.

The man nodded in understanding and turned back to the portal.

"Oh, and one more thing." Vlad called, stopping the man in his tracks.

"Make sure they hate him just as much as I do." He snarled his eyes beginning to glow a deep shade of red.

The man nodded once more and vanished through the portal, leaving Vlad alone once more in the room. He sighed and turned back to the papers in his hands. His eye caught sight of the largest one as he pulled it out once more.

A large smirk spread onto his face as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Get me my construction designer." He ordered. A moment of silence passed before someone on the other end picked up. "Yes, I-" Vlad started, only to pause as the man on the other end began to speak. "No I didn't destroy another mansion!" He snarled in reply.

Taking a calming breath, Vlad continued. "How busy are your workers?" He asked. A smile spread onto his lips. "Excellent. Because I have a project for them." He instructed as he stared down at the blueprints in his hands. "When do I need it?" He asked, repeating the question.

"As soon as possible."

* * *

 **Well, there's your prologue everybody. Not very long, nut it is a prologue.**

 **Sorry it took so long to get this sequel out *couch, cough* :D But you know, life. Anyway, the next chapter should be out sometime next week. It would be by this weekend, but I have a really busy schedule for the net few days.**

 **But hey, you never know.**

 **So, stay tuned for the next chapter of...The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions**


	2. Chapter 2: Five Months

**Chapter 2: Five Months**

* * *

Five months was how long it took for the city to be fully restored to the beauty it was before. Five months was how long it took for the Titans to fully recover from their wounds, the injuries and burns now nothing but distant memories and faded scars. Five months was how long it took for the nightmares to finally stop. Five months was how long it took for everyone to start forgetting.

The city now looked brand new once again, as if the battle had never taken place. The buildings now shone brighter, the light from the setting sun reflecting off the glass and into the sky once more. The streets were now bustling with people once more, again living out their daily lives. In fact, the most interesting things that would now happen in the city were the daily villain attacks, and even that wasn't new. And in the distance, a glistening high-tech T-shaped tower stood tall on one of the islands farther into the bay. Always watching, always protecting.

It was almost as if everything were finally at peace in the city.

Almost...

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

"BEASTBOYYYY!"

The green changeling sprinted into the Ops Center, everyone jumping at the loud yell and the frantic teen as he tried to find a place to hide before...

Danny burst through the doors, covered from head to toe in purple slime. His eyes glowed a deadly green as he scanned the room, his eyes landing on Beastboy, who hid behind Robin's cape. Cyborg sprinted through the doors after him, a large grin on his face as he watched the events unfold.

Robin, Starfire and Raven glanced at each other in confusion, then turned back to the others.

"I...*huff*...am going...*puff*...to KILL YOU!" The ghost boy snarled through breaths as he glared daggers at Beastboy, who continued to tremble, even as he gave a sheepish grin. "I swear I was aiming for Cyborg. You just...kind of...got in the way." He said with a nervous laugh, which quickly died away at the look in Danny's eyes.

Starfire flew over from her seat on the couch and ran a finger through the slime on Danny's shoulder. "I believe this is my Tameranian Glorvian Pudding." She exclaimed in surprise, turning back to Beastboy.

Beastboy chuckled. "Yeah, I kind of borrowed some." He said, letting out a yelp as Danny stalked closer.

Jumping out from behind Robin's cape, the changeling began to back away slowly. "Ummmm..." He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "That's a good color on you." He chuckled nervously.

Letting out a roar of rage, Danny flew forward, Beastboy letting out a girly scream as he dove under the boy's grasp and transformed into a hummingbird, flying out of the room. Danny narrowed his eyes and turned to Cyborg, who was rolling on the floor in laughter. "I'd start running too if I were you." He snarled, causing Cyborg to bolt upright.

"What? But I didn't do anything!" He shouted, slowly backing away with his hands raised defensively.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Anybody can tell you two are always involved in pranks. Can't deal with one without the other now, can I?" He growled, his eyes beginning to glow brighter. Cyborg gulped and dashed through the door as fast as he could.

Raven rolled her eyes and turned back to the book in her hands. "Boys." She grumbled.

Danny turned his head. "Hey, Rob? Want to get in on this?" He asked.

Robin smirked. "I'm down with a little revenge." He grinned as he walked over.

Danny turned to stare down the hallway once more. "Got any ideas on what we can do? You know, other than hang them upside down from the ceiling and leave them there for a couple hours?" He asked, a grin appearing on his face at the sudden idea.

Robin smiled. "As great as that would be, I think I have a better idea." He said. "How long does it usually take for someone to wake up after being overshadowed?" He asked.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "An hour, more or less."

Robin nodded. "And...just how sticky is that ecto-goo of yours?" He asked with a smirk.

Danny's eyes widened as he finished the plan in his head, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

* * *

 **One hour later**

Beastboy groaned as he cracked open his eyes. Wait, didn't he already wake up today? Yeah...he did. In fact, he got up early today to finish up the plans on the new prank. The prank that hit...DANNY!

The last few hours came rushing back to the green changeling as he remembered Danny's anger and his fear. He bolted upright...well he would have if he were able to. "What the heck?" He asked as he found his arms stuck to something behind him. Twisting his neck around, he could make out the gleaming of metal and a shinning red eye.

"Well it's about time you woke up. I've been hanging here forever!" Cyborg growled.

Beastboy's eyes widened as he fully took in the situation.

The two teens were covered in some sticky green substance. They were back to back, Beastboy's arms glued to the cold metal of Cyborg, rendering them useless, while one of their legs was stuck to the other person's, like a sick three-legged race. And to make matters worse, they were hanging off of the ceiling in the training room.

"Dude, why the heck are we up here?!" Beastboy shrieked. As soon as the words left his mouth, a bright light flashed below them, blinding the pair for a moment as their eyes adjusted and they glanced down to see Robin and Danny standing side by side below them, large smirks plastered to their faces, a small camera held in a certain Ghost Boy's hand.

"And that, boys is why you _never_ prank a halfa." Danny grinned as he tossed the camera to Robin, who shook the device in the air teasingly to the trapped boys suspended above them.

The two chuckled as they turned to leave, pausing as they were greeted to shouts of disbelief and shock. "Wait, aren't you guys going to get us down from here?" Cyborg shouted as he struggled once more to escape from the gooey confines.

Robin shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Nah, I'm sure you guys can find a way to escape. If not...then I guess we now have a pretty cool new chandelier." The Boy Wonder smirked, Danny doing the same beside him.

As the pair walked through the doorway, Danny turned back. "Besides..." He called over his shoulder as he walked out the door. "That's a good color on you two."

"Hey! Dudes come on!" Beastboy shouted as he transformed into various animals, none able to break through from the sticky substance.

Cyborg raised his gaze. "And please don't leave me trapped here with the little grass stain!" He pleaded to the heavens above.

Beastboy narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well this grass stain's about to get us down from here!" He shouted confidently as he morphed into a large gorilla, the tiles above them creaking with the extra weight, until they snapped altogether and the pair crashed to the floor.

"See...told you I'd get us down." Beastboy weakly called from under the rubble, unaware that they were still stuck together.

Cyborg groaned.

It was going to be a _long_ night.

* * *

 **Tower Roof**

Danny sighed and closed his eyes, letting the cool breeze wrap around him, raven-black hair brushing softly against his face. The tower's roof was one of his favorite places in the whole tower. Especially at night, when the stars came out and the moon shone down on the black ocean waves, illuminating a glistening path across the water.

He opened his eyes once more and took in the sight of the shimmering pearl-white pool of stars in the inky black night sky. They twinkled and shone like scattered moondust that gently floated throughout the air. The ones furthest away, almost too far for the human eye seemed like small pinpricks of light, making the closest ones seem like twinkling diamonds placed perfectly around the large pool of light that was the moon.

Danny tilted his head slightly as he began to traced the constellations in his mind, watching as the shining stars came together to form different images. He smirked slightly as he remembered what he used to to with Sam and Tucker. Whenever the group was finished with the nightly patrols and still had some extra time on their hands, they would look up to the sky and make up their own constellations.

Placing his arms under his head, he let out a relaxed sigh and let the salty smell of the ocean below him wash around him. He currently lay above the door that lead to the roof, possibly the tower's highest point. Perfect for star-gazing.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening underneath him caused Danny to open his eyes once more. He didn't even need to look down to know who it was. "Mind if I join you?" Robin asked from below.

Danny shrugged. "Come on up." He called.

Grabbing onto the ledge of the structure, Robin expertly flipped himself up, landing perfectly next to Danny, barely making any noise in the process. Danny rolled his eyes. "Show-off." He grumbled, getting a smile from Robin as the Boy Wonder laid down next to him and gazed upwards at the stars as well.

A loud crash could be heard from below them, seemingly coming fro the Ops Center. Danny gave Robin a questioning look. "Beastboy and Cyborg. Still trying to break apart." He explained with a smirk.

Danny rolled his eyes and smiled, leaning back once more to gaze up at the stars.

After a few moments of silence, Robin finally decided to break the silence. "Uh, oh. That's your thinking face. That's a dangerous look." He said with mock fear, Danny glaring weakly at him. "So whats on your mind?" Robin asked.

Danny kept his eyes on the stars as he connected another constellation. "Just thinking about Amity." He said quietly.

Robin's eyes scanned the sky for more connections. "Homesick?" He asked.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I _do_ miss Amity, but do I want to go back?" He paused for a moment to contemplate his question. Robin listened and waited for the boy's answer, finding himself anxious at what it would be.

"No. No I don't. This is my home now." Danny finally confessed. "But I _do_ miss the people living in Amity. What do you call that? Peoplesick?" He asked with a small smile.

Robin smirked. "That makes it sound like you're sick of people." He laughed, Danny doing the same besides him.

"Well you could always go visit them. You haven't done that in a while. After all, I'm sure you're just _dying_ to see Sam again." Robin teased with a smirk as he flipped over onto his side to look at Danny, the halfa doing the same.

"Okay, one: half-dying. Just can't seem to wrap your head around that, can you?" He said with a grin, Robin punching him in the arm for that. "And two: what about you and Star? Are you ever going to make a move?" Danny asked.

Robin's eyes widened as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "What are you talking about?" He asked with a nervous smile.

Danny cocked an eyebrow. "Dude, seriously? Do you really think you can hide something from me? Besides, everyone here already knows about it. Well...everyone except you apparently. And they call me clueless..." Danny said, beginning to trail off before turning back to Robin.

"Well what do you want me to do? I can't exactly ask her out on a date." Robin sighed as he rolled his eyes.

Danny tilted his head. "And why not...?"

Robin's eyes widened as he leaned closer, as if the answer was obvious. "Alone?! Are you kidding?! I'd have no idea what to say." He explained frantically.

Danny gazed at his questionably. "But you've been alone with her before." He said, confused.

Robin nodded. "Yeah, but those were either accidents or only for a couple minutes. Do you know how long a date is?!" He paused for a moment. "I'm asking you, do you? I've never really been on one...willingly at least. What are you even supposed to do?" He asked nervously.

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes. "Give him a monster, he'll take it down in a few minutes. Villain with henchmen, even faster. But put him on a date-"

"Don't call it a date. It's not a date." Robin grumbled.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Fine, put him with Star on an 'outing' and he'll have a panic attack. Pathetic." He smirked, earning a few glares from Robin.

"Okay, okay. How about I solve both our problems." Danny said as he held his hands out defensively in front of him. Robin waited silently as he watched his brother try and figure out what to do. Finally, the boy's face lit up as an idea popped into his mind. "I got it. Okay, how about I go over to Amity and bring Sam over here. Then the two of us can go with you on your 'outing'. Make it a double-outing." He smirked. "I can even bring along Tucker and Jazz and drop them of at the tower to keep the others off of our trail, cause knowing them, they're definitely going to try and follow us." He said, rolling his eyes.

Robin thought about it for a moment, before giving a small smile. "That could work."

Danny sighed in relief and laid back down on the cement, Robin doing the same. "Thanks, D." He said with a smile.

"Anytime." Danny replied as he connected another group of stars.

"Hey, see if you can come up with your own constellation." The halfa asked, turning back to Robin. The boy shrugged and turned back up to the sky. "Umm...okay. Oh, there's a...bat." He said, tracing his finger across the sky in the line of a bat.

Danny nodded as his eyes made out the shape of the wings and the ears. "Not bad, not bad. Umm...Oh, I see a falling bird-brain." He exclaimed with a small smirk, a mischievous glint in his icy-blue eyes.

Robin narrowed his eyes as he scanned the sky. "Where do you see that?" He asked right as Danny shoved him in the side, sending the teen rolling off the structure and down onto the ceiling floor below them. "Here." Danny called nonchalantly as he closed his eyes, a large smile plastered into his face. That is, until Robin stood and grabbed the boy's ankle, dragging him down onto the floor as well, beginning the scuffle.

"First one to throw the other off the roof wins!" Danny called as Robin slammed his elbow into his side.

"You're so on!" Robin shouted back right as Danny kicked the back of his knee.

Together, the two became a jumbled pile as they rolled around on the roof, trying to throw the other off.

They didn't even notice the figure far out over the ocean, binoculars in hand as the man floated over the water, thankfully out of range of the boy's ghost sense. He grinned wickedly as he watched the two brothers fight on the roof. Lowering the binoculars once more, a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen.

"Looks like I found your Achilles Heel, Daniel."

* * *

 **Dun, Dun, DUNNNNN!**

 **What is Vlad planning? Whatever it is, it can't be good.**

 **Sorry for the sort chapter, but I really wanted to get it out this week. I promise they'll start to get longer again, just give me more time to flow back into the rhythm of things.**

 **Anyway, I just love writing Danny and Robin moments. It has to be one of my favorite things to write int his entire series. They were always my favorite characters in their separate shows, so bringing them together is just...AWESOME!**

 **So, this chapter was kind of slow-paced. I mean, nothing _really_ important happened, other that Cyborg and Beastboy learning to never prank Danny, or Robin for that matter. Also, you guys can get ready for the "outing" as Robin calls it. **

**CLUELESS!  
**

 **But also, for anyone who wants to see how people in Amity will react to Danny coming back, get ready! Some of you might wonder that if Danny had visited Amity already, how nobody has really seen him? It's because he normally just heads straight for Sam, Tucker of his house. But this time, I'll place him somewhere in public.**

 **And that's all I'll say about that. Just a little something to prepare you guys. So the next chapter should be out sometime next week. Maybeeee...this weekend, but don't quote me on that.**

 **Anyways, stay toned for the next chapter of...The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions!**


	3. Chapter 3: Saved By The Bell

**Chapter 3: Saved By The Bell**

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 _ **1 day later**_

"I should be back in an hour or so." Danny said as he typed a system of commands into the computer, the large metallic doors sliding apart, revealing the swirling green portal.

Robin nodded as he walked over to the side of the portal, leaning on the cold metal as Danny transformed into Phantom, black hair turning a stark white, his clothes reverting into his newly refined Titan uniform, which was now a closer design to the original. It consisted of a tight black jumpsuit with a green DP insignia in the middle. Running down the sides of the uniform were bright white lines that stretched all the way down his arms and legs to the white boots.

"In the meantime, you need to go ask Starfire out for the da-the _outing_." Danny said, correcting himself as Robin gave him a hard glare, which turned into a pleased nod at the correct term. The pleased expression didn't last long though as Robin finally began to comprehend what his assignment was. He gulped and pulled at his collar.

Danny rolled his eyes and flew over, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Just relax and talk to her like you always do. It's not that hard." He muttered. Robin snorted. "Then how come it took so long for you to finally get together with Sam?" He asked with a sneer.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Quit trying to change the subject." He growled as he turned back to the portal. "Look, either you ask her or I will for you. And trust me, you won't like how I do it." He threatened.

Robin rolled his eyes. "I'll take your word for it." He said as he walked out the door.

Danny smiled and turned back to the portal once more, diving headfirst into the swirling green light.

* * *

 **The Ghost Zone**

The setting instantly switched from the high-tech lab to the dark rocky terrain of the Ghost Zone. Wisps of dark green ecto-plasm swirled around Danny as he flew, filling him with energy as the slimy substance made contact with his skin, his eyes beginning to shine an even brighter green.

Outcrops of rock lazily floated around him, varying in sizes and shapes from those as small as his fist to as big as Skulker's island. Along with the boulders, different doors could be seen, some pristine and shining while others seemed as though they had seen better days, rotting at the sides, burn marks around the edges as well as many dents here and there.

Lowering his gaze, Danny noticed he was currently flying over a long stretch of ground, the dirt housing many different graves and tombstones. He shuddered slightly as he remembered his first experience with the creatures below in the graves.

The objects in the Ghost Zone never really seemed to make any sense to Danny. A staircase leading to nowhere stood tall on his right while a lone stone wall lay flat below him, various shattered and broken windows laying in its features.

As he flew through the dark green sky, Danny made sure to watch out for other ghosts carefully. _I really don't need any surprise attacks right now._ He thought as he continued to fly through the dark sky.

Suddenly, one of the purple doors slowly creaked open. Thinking quickly, Danny dove behind one of the nearby outcrops of rock. Poking his head out from behind the portal, Danny could make out shining black armor and flaming purple hair. _The Fright Knight_. He realized as he watched the ghost exit the door and turn back. "Make sure you are ready when he calls. It is almost time, Be prepared." He instructed.

Danny narrowed his eyes as a shadow walked closer to the door and nodded. Too shrouded in shadow to see who the mysterious other figure was, Danny watched as the Fight Knight closed the door and turned away, flying farther into the Zone.

Flying out from the cover of the rock, Danny scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what had just unfolded. Whatever it was, he would have to deal with it later. he was getting close to the Fenton Portal.

After a couple more minutes of flying, Danny finally began to notice the landmarks becoming more familiar, landmarks he had flown by millions of times before. He smirked and pushed on until he could make out the bright light of another portal. Flying forward, Danny stopped in front of the portal and gently placed a hand up against the swirling green light. It was cool to the touch.

With a smile beginning to spread onto his face, Danny gently flew through the portal.

* * *

 **Amity Park**

 **FentonWorks**

Pushing through the swirling light, Danny felt the temperature change as he stepped onto the cold metal of the lab. Glancing around, he realized the room was empty, but he could also tell his parents had been very busy. The lab was barely recognizable.

The counters now stretched all around the room, various monitors and screens hoisted on top of or above them. Different beakers containing unknown liquids bubbled or fizzled on the tables, countless papers strewn about the floor. Blueprints for different inventions hung around the wall as Danny investigated. Even the portal he had stepped out of seemed different. The metal around it was shinier and sleeker.

"Man, upgrade much?" Danny said to himself as he walked through the lab. Suddenly, he heard a crash downstairs and the loud thumping of footsteps as they trampled down the stairs. "Who's there?! I got the Fenton Creep-Stick and I'm not afraid to use it!" A booming voice shouted as two shapes rounded the stairwell and leapt out into the open.

One was a large man dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit, while the other was a petite woman in a teal jumpsuit of her own. Both held versions of the Fenton Creep-Stick as they glared around the room, their eyes falling on the intruder.

"Danny!" They shouted, dropping the bats as they rushed forward, embracing their son in a hug. Danny smiled and pulled away. "How have you been, sweetie?" Maddie asked as she placed a hand on the boy's cheek. "How are things in Jump? Are you okay? Do you need to come back home?" She asked quickly.

"I'm fine, mom." Danny said as he gently placed his hands onto her arm, lowering it back down. "And Jump's fine. I don't need to come home." He explained.

Maddie sighed. "I know. I just miss having my baby boy around here." She said with a small smile.

Danny smiled slightly and gazed around the room. "So what happened here? This lab looks a lot different from the last time I saw it." He said as he gazed around at the room once more. Jack chuckled. "Turns out having your son be one of the most nationally known heroes has its perks for business. Our inventions have been selling like crazy." He explained.

"Seems people want to be ready in case of any more invasions." Maddie said. "Guess they finally realized out inventions really do work when they found out about you." She said with a small sigh.

Jack scooted closer. "So what do you need, son? It's been a while since you visited."

Danny nodded. "Actually, I came to see Jazz and the guys." He explained. "Thought it was time they visited Jump again."

Maddie nodded. "Well Jazz and the others are still at Casper High. Actually, they should be getting out in about a half-hour." She explained.

"Okay. I'll head over there." Danny said as he turned away, only to feel a hand on his shoulder. Turning back, he was met by two pairs of concerned eyes. "Are you sure, Danny?" Maddie asked. "People would see you." She warned.

Danny nodded. "I know. but I think it's time to stop hiding. I'm totally done with that." He muttered as he turned back to the door. "I'll be fine, don't worry. Although, you might want to keep the door unlocked just in case we need to make a quick escape." He smirked.

Jack beamed. "No problem, Danny-boy!" He shouted.

Danny shook his head and smiled as he flew up the stairs. Thankfully, the interior of the house hadn't seemed to change like the lab had. Not that he had really been worried. Knowing his parents, they would want to keep the actual house the same.

Phasing through the front door, Danny took a deep breath and flew up higher into the air, above the roads and buildings. Closing his eyes, Danny sighed in content as he spread his arms and gently flew through the clouds, feeling the cold sensation as the wisps glided around him. The breeze blew around his hair, small white hairs licking against his face as he flew. He smiled as he felt the sensation of the sun's warm glow on his skin.

He loved flying.

Opening his eyes once more, Danny dove down from the clouds and lower to the buildings. He noticed people beginning to notice him in the streets, people pointing up and shouting to their friends. Some even waved. That was a first. Normally, the adults shook fists up at him, not waves. It was a nice chance, nonetheless.

Flying past the buildings, Danny noticed the people inside looking up from their work to watch the boy fly past. He smiled and waved to them before diving down once more. His eyes then made out a small elementary school. He chuckled as the kids on the playground stopped and stared at him. Leaping from monkey bars, swing sets and slides, the kids ran to the edge of the fence that kept them in the school perimeters and waved. Danny laughed and waved back, flying closer to the fence.

Hovering over the kids, Danny raised his hands and moved them together, a blue orb beginning to form in the middle of his palms. The kids watched with excited faces, even the teachers watching them staring and watching the events. Danny turned back to the kids. "Ready?" He asked.

He was greeted to many loud cheers and the nodding of several heads. Raising his heads, Danny opened his palms and shot a blue blast into the sky above the playground. The clouds became darker in color as flecks of white began to fall. The kids stared in awe at the falling snow, cheering loudly at the new weather that seemed to only be falling over their playground.

Flying up into the air once more, Danny waved down to the kids, the children and teachers waving back as he flew away, back on track to Casper High. Finally after a few more minutes, Casper High came into view. Flying down, Danny landed gently on the nearby lamppost posted next to the school's courtyard and transformed back into Fenton. Hoisting himself up, Danny swung his legs up over his body and suspended them above him as he began to hold a handstand on the top of the post, making sure to focus on his center like Robin had instructed him.

As he pushed himself up and down, he occasionally would switch from one hand to the other, practicing using only open hand to carry his weight. He chuckled slightly. Whenever he would do these at the tower, Robin would always make sure he did them as Fenton. Guess it would be too easy as Phantom to conduct these. Flipping over once more, Danny brought himself around to sit down on the lamppost top, the light bulb on top between his dangling legs as he perched his elbows up on top of it.

Glancing sideways, Danny stared silently at the doors to the school. It had been a while since he had opened them himself and seen the people inside. _Wonder what they think now?_ He wondered to himself. glancing down at himself, he realized he had changed much over the past months. He had grown taller, if only slightly, but still. His muscles were now leaner and more defined now that he didn't have to hide them, and the scars on his face also showed just how much he had changed. Even though most of them were just faded lines across his face, you could still see them if you were close enough.

Even his clothes were different. He now wore a dark red shirt, his DP symbol in the middle of his chest in black. Underneath that, he wore a tight long sleeved black shirt, as well as darker blue pants. _Guess I am different from the last time I saw them._ He thought to himself. Right as he finished his thought, the sound of a bell ringing made him raise his head.

The front doors slammed open as kids began to walk out. None of them seemed to have noticed him yet as they continued to talk to their various friends as they walked. He watched as more kids began to walk out, some that were more memorable than others, including Dash, Kwan, Paulina and Star as the group walked together.

Finally, Danny made out the four kids he had been waiting for. A smile spread onto his face as he flipped himself around and dropped down from the post. Walking across the grass, Danny noticed kids beginning to stop their conversations and stare at him. Suddenly, Danny watched as the bracelets on the arms of his friends began to glow and flash red. They narrowed their eyes and whipped around until their eyes landed on a certain halfa. "Danny!" Sam smiled as she and the others raced over and enveloped him in a giant hug.

He noticed that they looked different as well. Sam now wore the purple crop-top she had worn before with the titans, long skin tight pants and grey combat boots with purple laces. Also she wore a thin silver belt, her Titans communicator securely fastened to it.

Tucker now wore a tight yellow v-neck with two thin orange lines stretching horizontally across it. He still wore his signature red beret but he now wore long dark blue pants. Danny noticed he had also grow slightly taller and had more muscles, no doubt from the more intense ghost-fighting.

Jazz's black shirt had now become sleeveless and she had traded in her long blue pants for a black mini-skirt. Underneath, long blue tights stretched down to her feet, which were covered by long black boots that stretched up to her knees. She now had a long blue scarf wrapped around her neck that draped down to her thigh as well as bright blue ribbons tied into her hair.

The only one who hadn't changed too much was Valerie. She still wore her dark orange headband, which kept most of her hair out of her face, apart from a small section that draped over part of her eye. But she now wore a dark orange tank top and short yellow skirt, black tights underneath, leading to small orange boots.

Pulling away, Tucker placed his arm around the boy's shoulder. "Dude! How's it been?" He asked with a smile.

Danny chuckled. "It's been fine. Actually, it's been pretty peaceful." He explained as he turned to Sam. The girl smiled as Danny pulled her into a hug, placing a quick peck on her cheek. " So how have you guys been?" He asked as Jazz gave him a hug as well.

Valerie shrugged. "It's pretty normal around here." She said. "Still have daily ghost attacks we need to deal with." She explained.

Jazz nodded. "But it's _way_ easier to deal with them now that people know about what we do." She said.

Danny tilted his head in confusion. Sam stepped forward. "Well now that we're 'Titans North'..." She said, quoting the air around her. "People expect us to deal with the ghosts around here. So we had Tucker make us some new equipment, including these little trinkets here." She said, raising her arm to reveal the shiny silver bracelets attached to her wrist, as well as the other teens as well. "Tuck made them to detect whenever a ghost's nearby. Kind of like your ghost Sense." She explained.

"That's probably why it started going off when you got close." Jazz clarified.

"Anyway, whenever that goes off, we're excused from class as we try and find the ghost." Sam finished. Danny chuckled. "Man, that would have been so much easier than what I used to do." He smirked.

Sam smiled and gazed back at him. "So what did you need, Danny? Is something wrong?" She asked.

Danny shook his head. "No, actually, I wanted to talk to you guys about..." He trailed off as he noticed they were now in the center of a large crowd of gawking kids who whispered excitedly to themselves. Danny shifted his eyes nervously towards his friends. "Does this happen a lot?" He whispered.

Tucker shrugged. "Not much anymore." He explained.

Turning back to the crowd, Danny gave a nervous smile. "Umm...hi?" He said awkwardly.

Suddenly the crowd surged forward, asking frantic questions, pushing pieces of paper into his face or trying to grab at his clothes. The group backed into each other as they tried to fend of the rabid crowd. "Not much, huh?" Danny muttered, Tucker giving an awkward shrug of his shoulders and a nervous smile.

Suddenly, the sound of a bullhorn cut through the noise as a familiar shout made its way to Danny's ears. "Lord of the Flies children! What's gotten into you?!" Lancer shouted as he walked through the crowd, freezing as his eyes landed on Danny, who nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Mr. Phan-Fenton?" Lancer asked, quickly correcting himself in the middle of his question.

Danny gave a nervous smile. "Um..hi, Mr. Lancer." He said awkwardly. "Hope you're not to mad about my absences." He chuckled slightly.

Mr. Lancer blinked a few times and shook his head to clear away the shock. "Um, no. It is alright, Mr. Fenton. Don't suppose you'll be joining us back here?" He asked.

Danny shook his head. "Sorry, Mr. Lancer. I'm needed back in Jump." He explained.

Lancer nodded. "I expected as much." he said quietly. Glancing back to the crowd that still surrounded the group, Lancer cleared his throat. "Nevertheless, children, I suggest you give Mr. Fenton and the Norths some space." He muttered.

Silence enveloped the area, before all chaos broke out once more as Mr, Lancer was swept off of his feet by the bustling crowd. Turning back to his friends, Danny gave them nervous looks. "Okay, what are we supposed to do now?" He asked.

"Didn't you expect them to be like this?" Jazz asked.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't think they'd be _this_ bad!" He growled as he grabbed his friends wrists and transformed into Phantom, the bracelets on their wrists beginning to flash a bright red. At the transformation, the crowd roared even louder as they watched the boy fly into the air. "Great, get them even more crazy." Sam muttered.

Danny glared behind him. "Do you want me to leave you here?" He growled.

Sam rolled her eyes as Danny flew the group over the heads of the crowd and land a few yards away. "Why are you landing?" Valerie asked as the group began to run, the crowd behind them giving chase. "Because we'd be easily spotted from the air. At least on the ground, we should be able to lose them." He explained.

"Why don't you just turn invisible?" Tucker asked as they continued to run down the sidewalk.

"He can't." Sam shouted as she turned down to look at her bracelet. "Our bracelets glow whenever a ghost makes contact, or overshadows us. Even invisible, the bracelets will still flash, leading them right to us." She explained.

Danny sighed. "So much for that plan." He growled as the group continued to run. As they rounded the corner, a pair of strong hands grabbed the halfa's shoulders and dragged him back into the large bush that sat perched on the corner of the sidewalk, his friends receiving the same treatment as they too were dragged into the bush.

The teens huddled together as the mysterious figures advanced closer.

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

Robin paced back and forth, stealing glances at the shut grey door from time to time, then back down at the ground. The sound of his shoes hitting ground echoed throughout the hall, filling him with frustration.

 _Ugg, why is this so DIFFICULT?!_ He snarled to himself as he continued to pace back and forth in front of a certain Tameranian's door.

 _It's not like I've never talked to her before! Why is this so hard?_ He asked himself, stopping his stride as he dwelled on the question. _Because now I'm facing something I'm not sure of. And I HATE being unsure of things._ He realized.

Rolling his eyes, the boy continued to pace back and forth. _Man, guess those late-night talks with Danny really do work._ He muttered to himself with a small smile.

Finally, he shook his head and took a deep breath, turning to face the door in the process. Raising his hand, he reared back, ready to knock when the door swung open to reveal Starfire. Both Titans jumped twenty feet into the air in shock, settling down when they both took calming breaths.

"Robin?" Starfire asked, a hint of confusion in her voice. "Do you need something?" She asked.

The boy in question nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay, umm...Star? I wanted to ask you something." He started. "I...um...would you...um...maybe..." He stuttered as he pulled on his collar, the temperature rising considerably to him.

Starfire gazed at him in confusion, unsure of what was really going on. The last time she had seen him so nervous was when they were on that alien planet together and she had asked him why she wasn't his girlfriend and...OH! Her eyes widened slightly in realization as she watched Robin continue to try and come up with a coherent sentence.

Clearing his breath, Robin took one more deep breath and continued. "Okay...um...Danny is back in Amity and he's bringing his friends back here..." He stared, watching as Starfire began to smile with glee. "Wonderful! It has been much too long since we have last seen our friends!" She squealed in delight.

Robin nodded as he began to rub the back of his neck. _Man, I really HAVE been hanging out with Danny too much_. He realized. "Anyway, Danny is taking Sam on a da...an _outing_ to the...to the...BOARDWALK." He quickly said, leaving a mental note to remind Danny where they would be going.

"Anyway, he invited me and said I could bring somebody else." He continued, Starfire watching curiously how this would play out. "So...I was wondering...if...mayybbbeeee...you'd come with me...on this... _outing_." He said, stressing the last word.

Starfire smiled as she watched Robin shift uncomfortable on his feet. Flying forward, she placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to quickly look up. "I would love to accompany you on the _outing_." She said with a large smile. Robin quickly sighed in relief and returned the smile, watching as Starfire flew past him and began to travel down the hallway, casting one last glance over her shoulder at the nervous boy.

She giggled slightly. Wait till she told Jazz!

* * *

 **Amity Park**

Danny narrowed his eyes as he transformed into Phantom and got into a defensive stance. He could hear his friends doing the same behind him as he raised a hand and lit it up with ecto-energy, illuminating the area around them, as well as the four figures in front of them.

He gasped as the light revealed four teens he never expected to face again. Lowering his defenses, Danny glanced back to his friends, who each gave him confused looks that mirrored his own. Turning back to the other teens, Danny cleared his throat and hesitantly reverted back into Fenton.

"Man, after all these months, it's still hard to believe..." Dash trailed off as the last of the white rings disappeared from Danny's waist.

"Well...thanks for the save, guys." Danny said as he gazed back at Paulina, Star, Kwan and Dash, who each gave him awkward glances. "N...no problem, Danny." Dash stuttered.

Valerie placed a hand on her hip as she stared at the teens. "So...what exactly are you guys doing here?" She asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't you be a part of that rabid mob?" Sam said, a look of suspicion clearly visible on her face. Paulina rolled her eyes as she watched Sam turn her suspicious glare towards her. "Relax, Manson. We aren't gonna try anything." She muttered.

Tucker narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well you guys haven't really done anything that would warrant our trust." He muttered.

Dash rubbed the back of his neck. "That's kind of what we're here to talk about." He said as Kwan stepped forward. "yeah, once we saw you at the school ,we knew now might be our only chance to try and talk to you, seeing as you don't really come to Amity anymore other to see your friends." He explained.

Danny tilted his head. "Alright...talk about what?" He asked.

Dash sighed. "Okay...a couple months ago...when you were revealed...nobody could have been more shocked than me. I mean, the nerd I wailed on every day turning into my all-time hero? It wasn't possible! I mean, there was no way that the most incredible super-teen was in-fact that nerdy, weak, useless..." He said as he continued to list all the offensive names.

"Um...alright!" Danny said as Dash continued with the list.

"...dopey, stupid, cowardly..." he continued.

"Okay, there _was_ an apology in there somewhere, right?" Danny sighed.

"...freaky, annoying, and overall-"

"OKAY! We get it! Continue." Danny muttered.

Dash took a deep breath before continuing. "Listen man...I'm really sorry about the way I treated you before. If I knew who you really were, I never would have pounded on you every day." He explained. "I mean, you're my hero!" He said with a smile. "I never should have treated you like I did. None of us should have." He said, gesturing to the others, who each wore similar guilty looks.

"But...I also never got a chance to say thank you." Dash continued. "I never got to thank you for saving the town so many times. For saving me, even though sometimes I didn't deserve it. Even though I was always a big jerk to you, you would save me anyways. I guess that's why you're the hero and not me." He sighed with a smile.

"Also, I think I finally understand all those mysterious pranks that would always happen to me." He said with a smile.

Danny chuckled, stopping when Dash held out a hand. "So...can we...start over?" He asked with nervous look.

Danny glanced at the hand for a moment, then turned back up to look at Dash, a smile making its way onto his face. "Sure, Dash. No hard feeling." He said as the two bumped fists.

As soon as they finished that, Paulina pushed past the jock as she came nose to nose with the boy. "So now that that's out of the way, maybe now I'll consider finally going out with you." She said with a smile as she puckered her lips.

Danny stuttered nervously as he turned intangible, the girl falling right through him as she face-planted into the grass. Quickly righting herself, she turned back to stare incredulously at the boy. "Sorry, Paulina. But I think I'm going to have to pass." He said with a smile as Sam walked forward, the boy placing an arm around her.

Pauling rolled her eyes, playing off her shock with disdain. "Fine. I always knew you two lovebirds would get together." She muttered as she walked back over to Dash, who rolled his eyes at the girl's antics.

The sound of frantic kids made its way through the bush as the group finally remembered why they were hiding in the first place.

Jazz groaned. "Great. How are we supposed to get past these guys?" She asked the group.

Dash and the others stepped forward. "I think we can help with this." He said as the four began to walk over to the bush. Turning back once more, Dash smiled. "Good luck in Jump, Phanturd." He smirked as he jumped through the bush. Kwan turned back and smiled. "See you guys!" He called, jumping through as well.

Paulina flipped her hair as she walked towards the bush. "Oh, Danny! When that relationship eventually falls through, I'll be waiting!" She called over her shoulder as she pushed her way through the bushes. Star sighed and began walking towards the bush as well, pausing to glance back at Danny. "Bye, Danny. Nice seeing you again." She called as she too pushed through the bush.

The sound of yelling could be heard as Dash and the others got the kids attention.

 _"Hey guys! I just say Danny Phantom and the Norths! They went this way! Hurry!"_ He shouted as the sound of loud footsteps departing left the sidewalk silent. After a few more moments of silence, the group decided it was safe to come out. Pushing through the bushes, Tucker chuckled as he brushed himself off. "Well that was unexpected. Never though Dash would be one to apologize." He smirked.

Danny chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Guess anyone can change." He said with a smile as he glanced down the street at where the large group of kids had disappeared.

Sam tapped his shoulder, drawing his attention back to them. "Alright, Ghost Boy. You didn't come here without a reason. You wanted to talk about something." She said, remembering that Danny had been about to tell them something before they were mobbed.

"So...what is it?"

* * *

 **Finally, I'm done with this chapter! YESSS!**

 **Man, it felt like distraction after distraction with this one. I'm sorry I couldn't get it out sooner. But oh well, it's here now, isn't it? Anyway, I hope you like the chapter. I always wanted to see how the people of Amity would react to Danny returning, if only for an afternoon.**

 **So those who wanted to see how that would pan out, here you go! Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Alright, hopefully the next chapter will be out soon, but be prepared for a wait because I have a SUPER busy month. I will be in Panama City for at least a full week for the softball world series. yayyyyyy**

 **l:(**

 **So, I'll make sure to bring my laptop, but don;t expect me to be able to work on it too much.**

 **Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter of The Ghostly Titan II: The Order Of Apparitions!**

 **(P.S. if Danny's relationship with Sam ever did fall through, I'm not so sure he would go to Paulina. Just saying...I think he might choose someone a little closer to Jump City. *cough, cough* Maybe someone with more superhero experience... *cough, hack, hack, cough* Maybe...even someone with...oh I don't know...spiky black hair...? XD**

 **I'm just saying. Maybe I'll create a spin-off RobinXDanny one-shot. I know some of you are DYING to see something like that. but for now, you'll just have to settle with them being brothers. Oh, well. You can always dream.**


	4. Chapter 4: Preparations

**Chapter 4: Preparations**

* * *

 **FentonWorks**

 _ **10 minutes later**_

"An outing? That's what he called it?" Sam asked incredulously as she failed to keep a straight face. Danny chuckled. "Yep, for some reason, he refused to call it a date." He muttered with a smirk.

Tucker shook his head, the large grin on his face clearly evident. "Man, who knew Robin could be so nervous?" He laughed, earning a playful punch in the arm from Jazz.

"So has he asked Starfire yet?" She asked as the group of kids, minus Valerie, made their way down to the lab. The Red Huntress would manage things in Amity for the rest of the evening, at least until the others returned.

Danny shrugged his shoulders as he began to type some commands into the computer next to the portal. "He hadn't yet when I left. But I warned him that if he didn't before I got back, then I would ask her for him." He said with a smirk.

"Yikes." Sam chuckled.

Jazz tilted her head. "Not that I don't love going to Jump, but it seems there's another reason you want us to come." She asked, watching as Danny began to rub the back of his neck as a nervous smile graced his lips. "Umm...yeah well me and Robin...might need you guys to...distract the other Titans while we're gone." He said to Jazz and Tucker.

The two teen gave each other sideways glances, and then turned back to Danny. "Distractions...yeah I think we can manage that." Tucker smirked

Finally, the large metal doors began to slide open, the swirling green portal revealed behind it. Danny walked over and did an exaggerated bow, extending his hand for the others. "Shall we?" He asked with a smirk, silently hoping to get out of there before his parents decided to give him another bone-crushing hug goodbye.

The others glanced at each other, excitement evident on their faces as they an over to the portal, Jazz and Tucker holding onto Danny's hands while Sam clung to the back of his neck. Tucker could barely keep his excitement in as they surged towards the portal.

Jump City, here we come!"

* * *

 **Jump City**

 **Titans Tower**

Once again, Robin paced back and forth as he continued to count the seconds as they ticked away. As he waited his friend's return, he silently thanked the heavens that the Ghost Boy wasn't there to witness his nervousness, or his continuous pacing.

The sound of his steel-toed boots repeatedly clicking against the cold metal floor of the lab soothed his nerves as they matched up with the seconds he was silently counting in his head. Finally, the sound of soft beeping snapped Robin out of his thoughts as he whipped his head up, gazing over at the control panel next to the portal, a single blinking light quickly approaching on the scanner. Cyborg had installed the scanner after the battle, alerting them of any approaching ghosts as they flew closer to their portal.

Robin readied himself into a small defensive stance, just in case the object on the scanner turned out to be something other than Danny. But he quickly relaxed as a familiar group of teens tumbled out the swirling green mass, crashing down onto the floor of the lab.

Danny was the first to stand as he quickly brushed himself up, the others beginning to do the same when Robin walked over. "What took you?" He asked while helping Jazz to her feet.

Danny shrugged. "We ran into some old...friends of ours." He said, hesitating slightly on what to call the group. Shaking his head, he walked over to Robin. "So...did you ask her, or am I gonna have to make a fool of you myself?" He asked with a smirk.

Robin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I asked her. We are good to go." He said with a smile.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah that's great and all but where are the others?" He asked as he bounced from foot to foot. Danny chuckled and pointed a thumb behind him towards the open door. Tucker and the others exchanged looks for a moment before they raced out the door. Robin and Danny laughed as they followed them out.

* * *

"DUDES!" Beastboy exclaimed happily as he leapt over the couch and wrapped his arms around the newcomers, who returned the gesture. Cyborg and Raven stood from their spots on the couch as well while Starfire flew up into the air and gave her own spin on Beastboy's hug by crushing the breath out of the teens.

"Friends! It is glorious to see you all again!" She shouted happily.

Jazz smiled weakly as she tapped the alien's shoulder. "Star...AIR!" She gasped out, the Tameranian quickly dropping them back down onto the floor. Cyborg placed a hand on Tucker and Sam's backs as a smile spread onto his face. "It's great to see ya'll again." He shouted happily while Raven decided to take a more withdrawn approach in welcoming the others, not that it was unusual.

Stepping back, Cyborg tilted his head as he continued to glance at the others. "So what do we owe the visit?" He asked.

Tucker shrugged his shoulders. "Danny and Robin need us to dis-" He started, only to have Sam slap her hand across his mouth and give a nervous smile to the others. "Umm...he mean to say that Danny and Robin invited us to hang at the tower tonight. Like old times." She quickly explained.

Beastboy shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever, it's just great to finally have someone else to play video games with." He nudged Tucker in the arm. "Hey, Tuck. We got the new edition of Mega-Monkeys." He smirked.

Tucker's eyes widened as his mouth hung open. "Controller, NOW!" He shouted as him and Beastboy surged towards the TV, Cyborg calling out that he would verse the winner. Robin sighed and shook his head, cracking a smile as Danny nudged him in the side and gave a smile of his own.

Raven walked over to Sam. "Okay, so what's the real reason you're here?" She asked in what seemed like a cheerier version of her usual monotone (but not by much). Sam shrugged. "Danny and Robin are taking me and Star on a da-an _outing_ and we needed the others to distract the rest of the team." She explained, correcting her terminology for the event when Robin pointedly glared at her.

Raven rolled her eyes, causing Sam to smile. "I know. It's pretty stupid, but you know how it is with...well with them." She said as she turned to glance at the group of three teens as they wrestled on the ground for the extra controller. Raven groaned and placed a hand to her forehead. "Try living with them." She growled. Sam chuckled. "Already have. Not fun." She smirked, Raven doing the same.

As the rest of the teens began to make their way to the couch, Star grabbed Jazz by the arm and dragged her down the hallway, much to the redhead's surprise. Entering the alien's room, Jazz yanked her arm free and gave the girl a confused look. "Geez, Star. You almost ripped me in two." She exclaimed, rubbing her now sore arm.

"I am sorry, friend Jazz but I am in dire need of your assistance!" She cried out as she flew around her room frantically.

Jazz's eyes widened at the girl's stress, knowing the alien was normally overly cheerful. "Um..alright. What's bothering you?" She asked as she took a seat on the bed. Starfire flew closer as she began to let out her worries.

"Friend Robin asked me on what he calls an "outing" which I can only assume to be what humans call a "date" and I am now very nervous because we have never been on one of these dates before and I cannot stop fearing what will happen if I do something unpleasingduringthedateforitisaveryconfusingthingtomeand-"

"Hang on! Hang on!" Jazz shouted, placing a finger to the alien's lips as her words began to jumble together as she talked at speeds only the Flash should be able to reach. "So if I got that right...you're worried about your date with Robin?" She asked.

Finger still pressed to lips, Starfire merely nodded sadly.

Jazz couldn't help but crack a smile, which only confused Star more. "Well then I guess you guys already have something in common." She chuckled.

Starfire tilted her head. "I do not believe I understand." She said though scrunched lips, sighing as Jazz lowered her hand, freeing the alien's mouth once again.

"Well...don't tell him I told you...but Robin's just as nervous about this date as you are. I mean, he can't even call it what it is!" She exclaimed with a smile. "That's why Danny and Sam are coming too. It will make everything less awkward because it will be less like a date and more like hanging out with friends." She explained.

Starfire lifted her emerald gaze to the redhead. "Are you sure?" She asked quietly.

Jazz nodded. "Positive. In fact, Robin's probably freaking out to Danny right now too" She smirked, realizing there was a good chance that was true.

Starfire smiled. "Thank you, friend Jazz. This has been most helpful."

She paused for a moment, then turned back and gave a sheepish grin. "There is also the matter on what I am going to wear..."

* * *

"Okay..." Robin sighed as he, surprise, surprise, paced around his bedroom while Danny laid nonchalantly against the headboard of the bed after being dragged to the Boy Wonder's room, much like Jazz had been dragged away as well.

"We got them here...now what?" He asked, raising his head to look at the calm boy that sat on his bed.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Now we get the finer details covered." He explained.

"Like?" Robin inquired as he took a seat on the desk across from his bed. Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Umm...well how about for starters, where we're actually going for this _outing_ of ours." He chuckled as he raised his head once more.

"The Boardwalk!" Robin shouted quickly.

Danny tilted his head and gave the boy a weird look, then shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, the boardwalk it is." He sighed as he stood once more and walked over to Robin's closet, much to the boy's confusion. "Umm...what are you doing?" He asked as he watched Danny place a hand to his chin and glance around the small space.

"Trying to find something for you to wear. And I got to say, I'm a little underwhelmed. Son of a famous billionaire and you can't take a break from the traffic lights?" He quipped while glancing cheekily back at the boy.

Robin rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well sorry but I don't really get out much." He smirked as he removed his mask, bright blue eyes sparking to life.

Danny chuckled as he pushed through the line of uniforms. "I can tell." He muttered as he glanced around the back of the closet, smiling as his eyes came across a suit in the very back. Pulling it out, he smirked as he showed it to Dick. "When did you wear this?" He laughed, watching as Dick rolled his eyes. "Just something I had to use while dealing with a particularly annoying villain." He muttered.

Danny smirked. "What did you do Take her to prom?" He sneered, the look mixing into shock as the look of embarrassment on the boy's face. A moment of silence went by before Danny fell onto the floor, clutching his stomach as he rolled around in laughter, earning a kick in the shoulders from an annoyed Dick.

"Yeah, yeah, like you don't have any embarrassing hero moments, Mr. _Danny Phantom Wears Tightey Whiteys."_ He sneered.

Danny rolled his eyes and walked over to the boy's dresser., pulling open the drawers to continue his scavenger hunt for good clothes. "So you nervous?" He asked as he threw a pair of socks onto the floor.

Dick shrugged his shoulders. "I guess." He muttered. "But weren't you nervous for your first date with Sam?" He asked.

Danny paused for a moment, then continued with his searching, moving on the second drawer. "I guess I was. I didn't want to look stupid. But then I remembered that Sam's known me pretty much since the second grade so she probably knew every stupid thing I _could_ do, so I didn't really have to worry about that."

He turned back to Dick and threw a smile. "Look, Starfire's pretty much seen you at your worst, right?" He asked.

"Pretty much." Dick answered.

"Then there you go! She's seen you at your worst, yet she's still here! That either means she likes you or she's crazy. Probably both. That's the only reason for her saying yes to this thing." Danny smirked, letting out a chuckle as Dick hurled a sock at his head.

Turning back to the desk, Danny took a seat next to the boy. "Listen, Dick. There's no reason to be worried about this thing. It'll be just like every other time you've hung with her. Only this time, you'll have Sam and I to keep you from doing anything stupid. It'll be fine." He smiled.

Dick nodded his head. "Okay. I get it." He sighed.

Danny nodded and walked back over to the dresser once more, moving on to the last drawer. Finally, he let out a satisfied chuckle and turned back to the boy. "I think I finally found something..."

* * *

 **Titans Tower Entrance Hall**

 **one hour later**

"Ready to go?" Robin asked as he faced the others around him.

Danny and Sam stood side by side, Danny wearing a dark green collar shirt with grey jeans and a black leather jacket over-top with dark green outlines running through it as well as a long silver necklace Sam had gotten him. Sam herself wore a long royal purple single strapped blouse with dark black tights and a large black belt around her shirt and waist.

Robin wore a black buttoned down shirt with rolled up sleeves and a loose collar underneath a buttoned black vest, a casual red tie placed around his neck, tucked underneath the vest as well dark black jeans with red outlines, signature mask securely resting on the bridge of his nose. Starfire stood besides him in a pink crop-top with white polka-dots and a high-waisted black skirt with white trim that stretched to the middle of her thighs and short-heeled pink shoes.

Jazz and Raven stood in front of the small group while Beastboy, Cyborg and Tucker sat in the living room, still oblivious to anything that was happening outside of their game. "Soo..." Robin started, only for Raven to finish.

"We'll make sure they stay unaware of anything." She muttered with a bored expression.

Jazz rolled her eyes and turned back to the others. "Go on. Have fun. We'll handle things here." She reassured them as the two girls turned and walked out of the room.

Robin turned back to the others as they made their way to the large doors to the Tower. He smiled as he opened the door, the bright lights of the city reflecting off the dark water as the moon hung low in the air, signifying how early the night was. "Well..." Danny said as he grabbed Sam's hand and turned to the others.

"Shall we?"

* * *

Skulker watched through the lenses as the group of teens made their way towards the city. A smirk made its way onto his face as he retracted the binoculars back into his shoulder and sprouted jet packs behind him, taking off into the sky, making sure to keep a safe distance away from the boy's ghost sense.

"Watch yourself, Whelp." He growled as he flew through the clouds, making sure to keep the group in his sights. "Once I get you and your little friend into my grasps, everything will fall into place." He muttered to himself

He grinned wickedly. "You two are my ticket in."

* * *

 **DUN, DUN, DUN!**

 **What the heck is Skulker talking about? Do you know? See if you can figure it out in the comments. I always love to hear what you guys think**

 **Okay, first order of business that I should probably get out of the way...I AM SOOOO SOOOO SORRY! This was probably the longest I have ever gone without posting a chapter. Almost a full month! I am disgusted! It seemed like more and more things kept getting in the way of this so I had to put it aside for a minute, especially since I was gone for about two weeks so I could barely work on it.**

 **Oh well...at least we made 6th out of 33 teams in the World Series! YAY! It was sooooo worth it! hehehehehe...(no it wasn't-I don't even like softball that much)**

 **Anyway...I'm still pretty busy so the next chapter might not come out very soon, but it definitely won't be as long a wait as this one was. I promise! Actually...I don't know just how busy I'll be so I probably shouldn't be making any promises...but SCREW THAT i'll promise anyway cause I'm STUPID! Good for me.**

 **So anyway, stick around to find out what happens next on The Ghostly Titan II: The Order Of Apparitions!**


	5. Chapter 5: Outings

**_Just to let you guys know, this chapter will include snipets throughout the night as I cut to different parts during the date-I mean...during the outing. Just to let you guys know_**

 ** _-rayrox360_**

 **Chapter 5: Outings**

* * *

 **Jump City Boardwalk**

Starfire cupped her hands together and brought them to her chest as she twirled around. "Come friends! There is much to do!" She beamed as she flew ahead. The others glanced at each other as large smiles made their way onto their faces as they continued to walk.

"Remind me again why we decided to go to the boardwalk?" Sam asked Danny as Robin went to go walk next to Star. The Ghost Boy shrugged. "I've kind of learned not to ask too many questions when it comes to Robin and one of his episodes." He said with a smirk. "Just makes things easier."

Sam giggled next to him as the boy continued. "But I'm pretty sure they host some sort of carnival thing around here all the time, so that probably has something to do with it." He said as the lights from the boardwalk steadily came closer and closer.

Glancing over to his side, Danny watched as the moon steadily crept higher and higher into the sky, illuminating the night sky and the dark waters below it as if melted streams of platinum had been draped over the lapping waters.

Starfire giggled and grabbed Robin's arm, yanking the boy quickly towards the carnival. Danny and Sam laughed as they began to jog and catch up to them. They watched as Starfire's eyes lit up in child-like wonder as she took in the sight of the bright lights and warm smells of steaming food. Danny elbowed Robin in the side as he whispered into his ear, "Hasn't she been here before?"

Robin shrugged his shoulders. "It's Starfire. What did you expect?"

Many booths lined up around them, different people excitedly buzzing around them. Many rides and attractions could be seen around them, including a large Ferris wheel that slowly spun in the air, hoisting its many riders into the air. The bright lights from the multi-colored lamps around them lit the boardwalk up in an array of different colors that washed over them, adding to the already bright night.

The excited alien giggled as she grabbed their arms. "Come, friends. We must try it all!"

* * *

Starfire giggled as she swung her legs back and forth as she sat in the secured seat, slowly ascending higher and higher into the sky as the large wheel spun around and around. Robin smiled besides her at the girl's excitement, especially since she had been on a Ferris Wheel before.

"Is this not glorious, Robin?" She asked with a smile as she gazed down at the moonlight waters and lit boardwalk below her. Robin chuckled. "Yeah, it really is something." He sighed as he placed a hand to the bar in front of him and gazed out over the shining waters. Starfire smiled at the people below her, waving occasionally at passer byers, giggling louder when they waved back.

Placing her hand to the metal bar as well, both teens' eyes widened in shock as their hands touched. Twisting their hands around, the two blushed slightly at the action, but surprisingly, none of them pulled away. Starfire smiled and leaned back in her seat, gazing calmly at the sky in front of her. Robin sighed in relief and leaned back as well as they secured their grip on each other's hand

Danny smiled in relief as he gazed down at the pair in the seat below him. "Guess those two are finally starting to get the gist of this." He smirked as he gazed at Sam besides him. The girl rolled her eyes and glanced mischievously down at the people walking on the boardwalk below them. "Want to keep throwing things at pedestrians?" She asked with a smirk.

Danny chuckled and pulled out another handful of trinkets and objects from his pocket. "Choose your weapon." He chuckled. Sam smirked and plucked a bright green marble from his palm. "Alright, five bucks says you can't hit that guy over there in the nose." The boy bet.

Sam narrowed her eyes as a large grin made its way onto her face. "Challenge accepted." She grinned as she hurled the small marble down towards its target.

"Oooooo!"

* * *

The group glanced up to the large red bells that hung on the top of the two large High Striker games that stood side by side next to each other. A particularly bored-looking attendant sat behind a small booth, an array of different toys and prizes hung from the front of the cheap booth.

Starfire smiled and dragged the others over, the man sighing as he watched them approach. "Come and test your strength." He muttered in a voice that reminded them of Raven. Danny chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. "Let me show you how it's done." He smirked at Sam, the girl rolling her eyes at the boy's words.

Starfire grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the two machines. The man sighed as he stood and handed them both mallets and pointed to the compressed target at their feet. "Swing the mallet as hard as you can and see how far you get on the meter." He muttered, raising his hand to gesture to the different readings on the machine, including sassy granny, girly man and crippled toddler.

The two teens shrugged and picked up the mallets. "Let's see who can out-swing the other, Star." Danny called to the girl as the two lined up. Starfire smiled. "I accept your challenge, Friend Danny." She grinned.

The two teens raised the mallets over their heads and swung them both down, the target below them crunching under the weight as the ringer shot upwards, slamming into the bell at the top, sending it flying as it was ripped from the top of the machine and sent crashing down over the dark waters besides them.

The man stared at the spot over the waters where the two bells had disappeared with an open mouth, then grumbled something as he roughly yanked the mallets out of the two teens' hands and gestured to the booth as he began to walk over to the water. "Pick out whatever. Darn super teens with inhuman strength..." He muttered as he walked out of sight.

Danny shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the booth, scanning it for a moment before plucking a stuffed black bat with large purple eyes from the rack. "Aww, see? It looks just like you." He smirked as he handed Sam the plushy. She smiled and took the bat from his hands.

Starfire watched with curious eyes, then flew over to the booth herself and picked out a large pink unicorn with a rainbow mane. She beamed in joy and flew back down to Robin, shoving the unicorn into his arms, much to the boy's shock. "Enjoy, Friend Robin!" She beamed.

Robin gave a nervous smile and gently held the plushy out to her. "You should keep it, Star. You won it fair and square." He said, silently praying she would take the brightly colored unicorn from his hands before anybody saw. The girl shook her head and smiled at him. "But I wish you to have it, Robin. Please, it shall be a gift." She said with a large grin.

Robin sighed and nodded with a smile of his own. Starfire giggled and grabbed his arm once more. "Come friends! There is so much more to do!"

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

Beastboy sighed as he slumped against the couch. Tucker blankly watched the game over sign flash continuously on the screen in front of him while Cyborg absentmindedly fiddled with the buttons on the controller in his hand.

To say the least, they were bored.

They had finished running through all the new levels of the game as well as the different challenges, multiplayer included. Beastboy groaned and slid slowly onto the floor. "Dudes...we need to do something exciting NOW!" He shouted to them.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Well find something interesting for us to do and we'll gladly go do that." He paused for a moment for them to respond, then snorted. "That's what I thought." He groaned.

Cyborg sat up. "Come on, ya'll. There has to be something to do around here!" He shouted as he stared at the two who were beginning to get into an argument over what them could do that would interest all of them.

Raven and Jazz watched the sad display from the kitchen as they prepared some herbal tea. "Robin and Danny so owe us big time for this." Jazz muttered as she continued to watch the three boys bicker. "Hmm." Raven sighed as she placed two cups onto the counter.

Finally, Tucker paused from his argument and began to realize that some people were missing from the tower. "Hey, wait a minute. Where are the others?" He asked, turning back to the other two boys, who were also beginning to notice an absence from the tower.

Beastboy gave him a confused look. "Jazz and Raven are right there, dude." He said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "No, he's talking about Robin and Danny."

"And Sam and Star." Tucker added.

Cyborg narrowed his eyes as he began to add things up. "Hang on. All four of them are missing, right? And it just so happens that it's Robin and Starfire with Danny and Sam." He started.

"And they left secretly without the rest of us knowing, right?" Tucker continued, their eyes widening as they began to piece it together. Turning to Beastboy, they sighed as he still didn't seem to understand.

Finally, the boy gasped and turned to them. "I bet they're on a date!" He shouted to them, who rolled their eyes at the amount of time it had taken the changeling to figure it out.

Tucker stood. "Come on! We so have to figure out where they are. This'll be great!" HE shouted, the others nodding in agreement.

"No!" Jazz shouted as she quickly stood up from her spot at the counter.

The boys turned around and gave her confused looks. "Uh, why not?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah dude. You guys can even come with us to spy on them! It'll be awesome!" Beastboy exclaimed with a hint of mischief in his eyes. Cyborg and Tucker stood behind him, large smiles spreading onto their faces as they tried to think of places where the rest of their teammates might be.

Jazz rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to think quickly of an excuse to tell them as to why they couldn't go. "Umm...you can't go because...because..."

Raven rolled her eyes and flew forward. "You can't go because Robin and Danny explicitly told us to keep an eye on you guys and make sure you stayed away from them during the night." She growled out, getting straight to the point.

Beastboy flattened his ears and gave her a puppy-dog look. "But why?" He whined out.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Because they didn't want your antics to get in the way of what they're doing tonight. So unless you guys want to hang upside down on the ceiling by your feet, I suggest you drop this idiotic idea!" She snarled.

The boys huddled closer together at the girl's words, fearful for their health. The cloaked girl rolled her eyes and turned back to Jazz. "See if you can find the Chamomile. I'll look for the mint leaves." The redhead nodded at the girl's instructions as she turned and began to dig through the cabinets for the ingredients.

Beastboy and the others huffed as they crossed their arms and sat grumpily on the couch, discouraged that their ingenious plans had been foiled. Suddenly, Beastboy's ears perked up as his mind wrapped around a idea. An idea that made his lips curl into a wicked grin as he rubbed his hands together.

Cyborg and Tucker glanced at each other in confusion, then turned back to the Changeling. "Dude, why did you get all 'evil villain plan' creepy?" Cyborg asked.

Beastboy grinned. "Be right back." He whispered before sprinting down the hallway.

The two techno-geeks glanced at each other once more, then shrugged their shoulders. It was Beastboy just being Beastboy.

The two boys took a seat on the couch as they switched the video game to live TV. Reaching into his chest, Cyborg pulled out two small contraptions he had been working on, handing one off to Tucker as well as a few tools. "Thanks." The boy sighed as they both began to quietly tinker around with the inventions as they waited for Beastboy to rush back out of his room.

They heard panting behind them as Beastboy zoomed back into the room, obviously hiding something behind his back. "So what's your plan, genius?" Cyborg asked as he crossed his arms. Beastboy glanced behind him at the two girls as they continued to make their tea, a wicked smile crossing onto his face as he presented what was behind his back.

"A bag? How's a bag gonna help us?" Tucker asked with a raised brow as he folded his arms.

Beastboy rolled his eyes. "Not just any bag!" He said as he opened the small brown paper bag to reveal-

"Powder...oh yeah, that'll teach them." Cyborg muttered as he took a seat once more on the couch and began to tinker with his invention again. Beastboy growled and jumped in front of the pair. "This isn't just regular power! It's extra-strength sleeping power." He grinned.

Tucker glanced at him in confusion. "Where'd you get that?" He asked.

Beastboy shrugged. "Robin has to sleep sometimes, right?" He grabbed a handful of the white powder. "Anyway, all we have to do is sneak this into their tea and wait for them to get knocked out. Then we track down those lover-boys and get some good blackmail!" He schemed.

Cyborg and Tucker glanced at each other before similar wicked smiles crossed onto their faces as well. "Alright, but who's gonna do it?" Tucker asked as the three boys glanced at each other before Cyborg and Tucker whispered. "NOT IT!"

Beastboy glanced at them in confusion before his brain caught up. "Aw man! Why do I have to do it? I came up with the plan!" He whined as Cyborg pushed him closer to the girls. "Sorry, B." He said as he gave him one final shove.

Beastboy groaned and walked over to the girls, his fists carefully hidden behind his back. "Um, Raven?" He called quietly.

The two girls set their tea on the table in front of them and turned around to face the boy. "What?" Raven growled.

Beastboy gulped. "Umm...I just wanted to...wanted to say...THANK YOU!" He screamed as he engulfed the girl in a large hug. Quickly he moved his fists to hover over the cups behind the girls and dropped the powder down into the tea. "Thank you for keeping us in line. You truly make us better people." He sighed, relief coursing through him now that the job was done.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Do you _think_ I was joking about that ceiling thing?" She snarled. "GET OFF!"

Beastboy jumped back in fear as he rushed back to the others, who snickered in the background. Raven turned to Jazz, who shrugged in response as the two turned around and grabbed their tea once more, walking out the large doors.

"Now we sit and wait." Beastboy smirked as the three boys rubbed their hands together.

* * *

 **Jump City Boardwalk**

"What is this sweet smelling food?" Starfire asked with wide eyes at the plate in front of her.

"It's funnel cake." Robin explained with a smile as Danny and Sam ripped off a piece of the fried treat. Robin ripped a piece off himself and showed it to Star. "It's fried batter with sugar on top." He explained, handing it to the curious girl.

She furrowed her brow and popped the small piece into her mouth, her eyes widening as she quickly turned to Robin. "It is delicious!" She cried happily as she reached forward and placed another piece into her mouth. Robin chuckled and grabbed a piece for himself.

Danny furrowed his brow as he gazed questionably at the table they sat at. "Why are all these tables always so sticky?" He muttered to himself. Sam snickered to himself. "Just think off all the toddlers spilling drinks, ice cream dropping and gum sticking." She smirked.

Danny chuckled and made a face at her, the girl making one right back at him.

Turning back to the others, Sam folded her arms above her head. "So what do you guys want to do next?"

* * *

Robin smirked as he and Sam took a seat in front of the booth. "You two may beat us in terms of strength..." Robin started as he grabbed the shooter in front of him. "But we have something better." Sam finished with a grin as she aimed the shooter at the moving targets.

In a matter of seconds all the targets were down, courtesy of either Robin or Sam.

"Hand-eye coordination." They smirked as they bumped fists and claimed their prizes, Sam's being a cute white ghost, which she handed to Danny. Robin instead choosing a large brown teddy bear. Starfire beamed as the boy handed the plush to her. "It is adorable, Robin!" She cried as she enveloped the bear into a large hug. "Thought it was time you got something you could hug without cracking bones." He chuckled behind her.

She giggled and gave him a large hug as well. "It is the most wonderful present I have ever received!" She smiled, gasping as he eyes fell upon the Hall of Mirrors sign behind them. Quickly grabbing the others' hands, their feet left skid marks on the ground as the girl dragged the trio once more across the Boardwalk. "

"Come friends, we must continue to explore!"

* * *

Entering the Hall of Mirrors, the group slowly walked through the attraction, smiling and pointing at each others' reflections whenever one was especially hilarious. Starfire smiled as she gazed at her own distorted self in the mirror. She was now shorter and had a very large head.

"This is most enjoyable...but confusing at the same time."

She turned back to Robin and the others. "Why does the mirror not show our true reflections? Why does it instead show these...strange copies?" She asked, a small smile appearing on her face as she would move this way and that to see how the reflection reacted.

Robin smiled. "That's the thing, Star. The mirrors make you look different and stranger. It's fun to see the different effects it has on your reflection." He explained. Starfire turned back once more to look at her reflection and broke out into a fit of giggles at her newfound knowledge.

Danny smiled at the girl's excitement as he turned back to Sam. "Have to admit, Fenton. This was a great idea." Sam smiled besides him as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Danny nodded. "Yeah, I really needed a night to relax." He sighed.

Sam tilted her head in confusion, causing Danny to continue. "It's just...we haven't seen any recent ghost activity in a while and...I guess I'm a little nervous. Where are they? What are they planning?" He explained, Sam quietly listening.

"And to add on top of that, I haven't heard anything from Vlad. You have to admit, last time we saw him wasn't the best. He's obviously planning something big if he's been this dormant for this long. So I guess I..."

"Let me guess, you've been a bit on edge waiting to see when he'll show up?" Sam finished.

Danny sighed as he lowered his gaze. Sam furrowed her brow and tightened her grip on his shoulder, making him look up. "Listen Danny. If what you're saying is true, then this is exactly what you needed. We've all been through a ton this year and I'm sure we still have more coming in the future. But whatever happens, whether it happens two days or two years from now...we'll all be by your side." She said with a smile.

"Now come on, Star's dragging Robin towards the face painting booth and I really don't want to miss that!" She said with a large smile as she walked out of the hall.

Danny sighed with a small smile as he began to walk towards the exit as well. He furrowed his brow as he felt a sudden chill and widened his eyes as a wisp of blue frost escaped through his lips. He narrowed his eyes and glanced around, his search coming up empty. He turned to glance at the last mirror, catching a glimpse of shining metal and flaming green hair above a grim metallic smile. He gasped and spun around only to find more and more mirrors entrapped him on all sides, all reflecting back similar horror-stricken faces that mimicked his own.

He narrowed his eyes and once again began to cautiously make his way towards the exit, suddenly feeling the urge to quickly find his friends

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **15 minutes later**

The trio of boys stared at the closed door in front of them that led to Raven's room. They hadn't heard anything from the girls since they had sabotaged their drinks and were starting to get antsy. "How are we gonna find the others anyway?" Beastboy asked as he turned to the others.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "All we have to do is track one of their communicators and follow the signal." He explained as Cyborg pulled up the tracking system on his arm. Beastboy tilted his head curiously as he waited for Cyborg to finish receiving the signal.

Lifting his head, Cyborg pressed a few buttons and the tracking screen disappeared. "They're at the boardwalk." He stated.

Beastboy smirked and rubbed his hands together, earning a smack upside the head from Cyborg, who turned back to the shut door, suspense filling their bodies once more as they slowly inched forward towards the door.

"How long does it take that powder to kick into effect?" Cyborg asked as he turned to glance at Beastboy.

"About 10 minutes." He explained.

"Great, then they should be knocked out by now." Tucker exclaimed. Cyborg rubbed his chin in thought. "But just to be safe..." He said as he gave Beastboy a shove towards the door. "Go check, buddy."

Beastboy stumbled forward, glaring back at Cyborg, then turning to face the door once more. His body shook as he crept forward, reaching out a fist to knock, tapping it once against the metal door, immediately leaping backwards in preparation for an attack.

He popped open his eyes as nothing happened. Placing an ear to the door, he could hear nothing but silence through the door. Turning back to the others, a smile crept onto his face. "Nothing! Looks like we are good to-"

He never finished his sentence as the door shot open and a black tendril of magic zoomed out, wrapping around the three boys before anyone even had a chance to blink.

"Hey!"

"What the heck?!"

"DUDES!"

Raven and Jazz exited the room, smirks plastered onto their faces, matching the devious glints in their eyes.

Beastboy groaned as he turned towards the girls. "Man! How did you guys figure it out?" He asked.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Please, I've made that tea thousands of times. I could tell just by the smell of it that something was different. It didn't take long to realize you three idiots had planted something in it." She explained.

Jazz smirked besides her. "Guess you guys really did think she was kidding about that ceiling thing." She snickered.

The three boys gulped fearfully.

* * *

 **Jump City Boardwalk**

Danny narrowed his eyes as he continued to scan the sky and the boardwalk, intently trying to keep track of the people who mingled about. Images of the shining metal of the metallic suit flashed in his mind. He stiffened as he began to remember who Skulker normally worked for.

 _Where are you, Vlad? What are you planning?_

The last time he had faced Vlad, the man had nearly killed him, which the boy was sure he would have succeeded in if not for his father. Now that he knew there was no chance of Danny joining him, he would no longer hold back, a fact he had shared in their last battle.

The millionaire was not one to give up easily. So why hadn't he made a move yet?

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face. Danny hadn't even realized that he was now beginning to rub his wrists once more, running his fingers over the skin, which was now spotted with different colors of tan, brown and peach-white, signifying a mixture of new and old skin.

"Danny?"

His eyes flashed green as his hand lit up with ecto-energy and he raised it towards the boy, his face scrunched in anger and fear. Robin's eyes widened as he jumped backwards a step. "Whoa, whoa! Take it easy!" He shouted, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender.

Danny's eyes shined in realization as they flickered back to icy blue and the energy in his hand died down. "Calm down." Robin soothed as he placed a hand onto the boy's shoulder. Danny took a deep breath as he began to clear his mind as much as he could. "I'm sorry..." Danny sighed as he lowered his gaze.

Robin furrowed his brow as he glanced backwards towards the bathroom, where the girls currently were, then faced the boy once more. "Danny...what's wrong?" He asked quietly. Danny gave a lopsided smile and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong. In fact, everything's great. Everything's awesome, wonderful, spectacular! I couldn't be better!" He said with a weak smile.

Robin raised a brow. "Okay...I didn't need to be raised by the World's Greatest Detective to know that was a lie." He stepped closer and placed his hands on both of Danny's shoulders as he looked the boy in the eyes. "What is it?"

Danny sighed and walked over to one of the nearby benches, Robin following behind. Taking a seat, Danny folded his hands as he hunched his back slightly and studied the intricate patterns in the wood below his feet. Robin sat quietly besides him, knowing to let the boy explain what was troubling in his own time.

"I'm just worried, Robin." He finally confessed. "We haven't heard anything from the ghosts or from...Vlad." He explained. "And I've been fighting Vlad for a long time, longer than I would like, so much so that I know he would never give up so easily."

"I know he's planning something. And I know he saw how much I care for you and the other Titans. I mean, what if he tries to use you guys against me? What if he hurts Sam or Cyborg or you?" He sighed as he placed a hand to his face and moved it upwards to run through his ebony hair.

Robin stayed silent for a moment, then placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Danny...I understand everything you're feeling."

The boy raised his head to look at his masked brother. Robin nodded and continued. "I understand that feeling. That feeling in your gut that screams at you your enemies will return. And while this is probably the last thing you want to hear...that feeling is normally correct."

Danny snorted. "You were right. I _don't_ want to hear this."

Robin rolled his eyes and continued anyway. "Even so, we beat Vlad last time and if he ever shows up again, we'll beat him even farther into the ground." He exclaimed with a small smile. "Danny...there's always a chance of us getting hurt. That's just something that comes with the job of a hero. I mean, come on! We literally _run_ into the face of danger. That's going to _at least_ give us a splinter or something!" He shouted with a smile.

Danny chuckled as Robin continued once more. "Nevertheless, we're a family. We're in this together. And we'll always _be_ in this together. So when Vlad finally shows his scarred face, we'll defeat him _together."_

Danny stared at the ground for a moment longer before raising his head to give Robin a smile as he nodded his head. "Thanks, Rob. I needed that."

"I would think so considering you almost took my head off with an ecto-blast." Robin smirked besides him, relieved to have caught the boy before things could get any worse.

Danny chuckled. "I guess I really did need a day off. For a while there, I almost thought I saw-"

 _"Me!_ "

Both boys were blown backwards as a large blue blast destroyed the bench they had been sitting on. The people around them screamed as they turned-tail and fled in the other direction. Danny groaned as he raised his head, glancing around wildly for Robin, noticing him a little ways off.

He narrowed his eyes as he turned his head to the sky, coming face to face with the entity he had seen in the Hall of Mirrors.

"It's been a while, Whelp!"

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

"This is sooo not how I planned spending the night." Beastboy grumbled as the blood continued to rush to his head.

"Tell me about it." Tucker sighed, Cyborg nodding in agreement as the trio hung by their feet upside down on the ceiling as Raven and Jazz drank fresh cups of tea while Raven read and Jazz watched T.V.

Transforming into different animals, Beastboy groaned as he finally figured out that none of them could break through the magic that suspended them in the air. "Ugg, there has to be a way out of this!" Beastboy shouted, only to receive his answer as Raven lifted a finger and made a twirling motion, the magic dissipating around their feet.

They all let out cries of shock as they fell to the ground, a large thump shaking through the tower as they finally made it to the floor. Raven smirked as her eyes made their way back towards her book, only to gasp as a bright red light filled the tower as well as the sound of a siren.

"Trouble!" She shouted as the five teens quickly stood, the tricks before long forgotten.

"But where?" Jazz asked as Cyborg rushed to the computer and pulled up a map of Jump City, a red blinking dot appearing at the edge of the city. "The Boardwalk." he said as he turned back towards the others.

Beastboy rubbed the back of his neck. "Guess we really do get to find the others." He chuckled nervously.

"Let's just hope we find them in one piece." Jazz fretted as they rushed out of the room.

* * *

 **Jump City Boardwalk**

Danny groaned as he stood up once more and turned to face Skulker, who retracted the blaster back into his arm.

"Skulker. I was wondering when you'd show your ugly face around here again." Danny snarled as he leapt into the air, transforming into Phantom as he did so. Flying up so he was level with Skulker, the boy readied himself into a fighting stance as he warily watched the ghost's movements.

"Why are you here, Skulker?" He asked as his hands began to glow with ecto-energy once more.

Skulker narrowed his eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He sneered, only to be blown down to the ground by a handful of explosives. Robin reached into his belt and yanked out his staff, twirling it in front of him. "Yeah. We would!" He snarled.

Skulker grinned as the two boys moved closer together, defenses still up. "Excellent. The boy is here as well. Once I get you two under control, acceptance will be a breeze!" He shouted as he shot forward and rammed his fist into Danny's chest, sending the boy flying backwards.

Robin ducked right as the attack flew over his head, sliding under the ghost's legs and appearing on the other side, only to have a group of blasters appear out of Skulker's back and aim right for him. His eyes widened as the blue blasts knocked him backwards.

Tumbling across the wood, Robin clawed for a hold on the boardwalk surface, grabbing one right before falling into he waters below them. Letting out a small breath of relief, Robin groaned as he pulled himself forward, only to yelp in surprise a blue blast shot off next to him, scorching the wood beside him. Narrowing his eyes, he reached into his belt and yanked out a handful of pellets.

Before he could release, Danny flew over and rammed into Skulker's side, sending the ghost stumbling. Righting himself once more, Skulker raised an arm, blaster appearing once more as he shot at Danny, the boy quickly dodging and maneuvering around the blasts as he normally did.

Unlike normal, Skulker seemed to know exactly what Danny was planning as he fired one blast, then raised his other arm and immediately fired another, watching as Danny dodged the first one and flew right into the path of the other. Letting out a cry of pain, the boy hit the ground hard, groaning as he pushed himself up once more.

Quickly jumping to his feet, Robin saw his chance as Skulker landed and chucked the small pellets straight at his chest, encasing the robot in a thick layer of ice. Danny flew over and landed next to Robin as the two glanced at each other in relief.

Suddenly, the ice began to crack and shake until finally shattering as the ghost broke free. Danny grit his teeth as he flew into the air and began to fire a barrage of blasts at the robot once more, Skulker flying into the air to join him. Ducking under a blast, Danny send a hard kick towards the robot's side, sending him crashing into one of the booths below.

Letting out a roar of rage, Skulker shot out of the rubble and shot towards Danny, bringing his fists together as he slammed them down on the boy's chest, sending him plummeting towards the Boardwalk, crashing right through the wood and into the waters below.

Robin ran over to the newly created hole and scanned over the water, searching for signs of the boy, only to receive a hard kick to the cheek, sending him reeling. He groaned and placed a hand to the injury as he stood once more and faced the ghost.

Charging forward, Skulker, whipped out a glowing green blade as he advanced. Robin took out his own staff and the two weapons met head on as they pushed against each other, Breaking away, Robin rolled on the ground and jumped up, slamming his staff into Skulker's side, sending the robot backwards.

Reaching into his belt, Robin threw a pair of bird-a-rangs towards the ghost, the objects exploding under his feet, a large plume of smoke arising from where he once stood. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Robin ran over to the waters, searching for Danny once more. Suddenly, he felt something grab his arm and yank him into the air, coming face to face with Skulker. The robot narrowed his eyes as he threw Robin into the water below, quickly following him in.

It was pitch black. That was the first thing Robin noticed.

The second was the large mass of metal around him, along with a few bright blasts of blue that illuminated the water around them for a split second before vanishing into the dark. Robin let out a groan as he felt sharp metal slice at his side. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his throat and a bright blue light begin to appear as Skulker held him down and charged up one final blast.

But before he could release it, a green blast hit him in the back, sending him flying forward in the water. Another hand grabbed Robin's shoulder as the two bodies moved closer to the surface of the water. Breaking through, Robin and Danny both sputtered and gasped for breath as they breached.

Flying up into the air, Danny grabbed Robin's hands as he flew both of them out of the water and back down onto the boardwalk. The two boys collapsed onto the ground as they lay panting for breath, both bleeding and bruised.

 _"Danny?! Robin?!"_

The two boys turned their heads as Sam and Starfire rushed over. "Are you guys okay? What happened?!" Sam shouted.

 _"Skulker"_ They both groaned.

"I don't understand." Danny breathed out. "Skulker's never been this strong before."

"It's like he's showing off his strength." Robin noticed as he sat up.

"But to who?" Danny questioned.

 _"The Order of course!_ "

Before they could react, a large blob of blue ecto-goo hit Sam and Starfire in the chest, sending them flying backwards towards one of the nearby walls, successfully sticking them to the surface, rendering them immobile. "Hey! Let us out!" Sam snarled as Starfire struggled next to her.

Skulker smiled wickedly as he landed in front of the two boys, who quickly stood at his arrival.

"Order? What order?" Danny asked hesitantly as his hands lit up with energy once more.

Skulker chuckled. "Only the Order I've been training for." He explained, grinning as he received a confused look from the Ghost Boy. "Of course you don't know. Only _true_ ghosts know just how powerful they are. And only true _ghosts_ will be able to enter. And once I get you two in my grasps, my entrance is guaranteed!" he shouted as he shot forward, ramming his shoulder into Danny's gut, sending him flying backwards.

Robin narrowed his eyes and lifted his staff, three electrical prongs popping up as he jammed the head of the staff into Skulker's leg. The ghost screamed in pain as currents rushed through his suit. Whipping his head around, Skulker lifted Robin up by the front of his shirt. Gritting his teeth, Robin swung his legs forward, hitting Skulker in the head, sending him stumbling backwards as he roughly dropped Robin onto the ground.

Lifting his hands, a loud creaking noise filled the air as Skulker readjusted his head. Turning to look at Robin once more, Skulker slid the long green blade out once more as he slowly advanced forward, Robin countering by backing up a couple of steps.

Suddenly, a glowing green whip wrapped around Skulker, clamping his arms to his sides. He growled as he whipped his head up right as Danny flew forward, swinging the large ghost around until he let go, sending him flying into one of the nearby walls, reducing it to shattered bricks.

Slowly making his way to Robin, Danny placed a hand on his shoulder. "You good?" He asked as he took a moment to catch his breath. Robin nodded as he reached towards his neck, yanking the red fabric that once made up a loose tie off of his neck and onto the ground below them. Danny smirked. "Do you know how long it took to find a suitable outfit for you?"

Robin smirked and lightly punched the boy in the arm. Suddenly, a loud rumbling filled the air. The two boys gasped and whipped their heads around towards the large pile of bricks. Finally, with a loud boom, the pile exploded as Skulker broke free, shattered bricks raining down around them. "I've had enough of this. Time to wind down this hunting session." Skulker snarled as he extended his hands, two large claws with wires attached to the robot's arms shooting out towards the boys, latching onto their chests.

Skulker grinned wickedly as slammed his hand down on the button next to his arm, the wires sparking with electricity as it traveled through the wires towards the claws attached to the boys. The two let out pained screams as the currents coursed through their bodies. Cutting off the power, Skulker released them and retracted the claws, the two boys crumpling to the ground.

A white ring appeared around Danny's waist, reverting him back into Fenton as he groaned and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. Glancing wildly around, his eyes fell upon Robin, who lay still on the ground. Eyes widening, Danny crawled over and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and another on his neck, relief flooding through him at the beating of his pulse.

He narrowed his eyes as Skulker landed and began to approach. He let out a groan as he shifted his body in front of Robin, gaurding the boy from the ghost's line of view.

"Get back." Danny growled as he tried to summon an ecto-blast, the energy fizzling in his hands. Skulker laughed as he reached down and grabbed Danny by the front of his shirt. "Not this time, Whelp." He growled as the glowing green blade hovered over his throat. "All the training had finally paid off. With you two in my hold, nothing will stand in my way of joining."

A wicked smile made its way onto his face. "I'm sure they won't mind if you're missing a limb or two." He sneered as he watched Danny's face contort into shock and fear.

Suddenly, a bright blue blast slammed into the robot's chest, sending him flying backwards as he dropped Danny into the hands of a certain green-skinned boy.

"No. But we would!" Raven growled as she flew forward, the other Titans around her.

Gently, helping Danny to his feet, Beastboy gave him a concerned look. "You guys okay?" He asked as he did the same with Robin, helping the Boy Wonder get onto his knees. "More or less." Robin groaned as he stood and made his way over to Danny.

"The girls?" He asked.

Danny nodded. "They're okay. Jazz is freeing them now." He said as the three girls ran over.

"Since when has Skulker been so powerful." Sam asked.

 _"Tell me about it"_ Both boys groaned, whipping their heads up as the sound of an engine revved forward, signifying Skulker wasn't down and out for the count yet. Cyborg cracked his knuckles as his sonic cannon appeared in his arm. "Let's make this fast." He growled as the others moved in around him.

Surging forward, Raven slammed the robot down with a burst of black magic, Starfire firing a beam from her eyes as the ghost tried to counter. Skulker growled as he flew forward, firing a couple blasts of his own as he went, only to gasp as a large lion clamped down on his arm, ripping through the circuits as it bit.

He snarled as he rammed his fist down onto the lion's nose, the animal retracting it's teeth as it fell to the ground, only to be scooped up as Danny brought him back down to the ground. Skulker narrowed his eyes as he tried to fly higher into the air, only to widen his eyes as a glowing green whip wrapped around his body as Tucker held him in place.

Sam ran over and extended her now gloved hands towards the sky, firing a bright purple blast straight at the ghost, hitting him square in the chest, sending him plummeting to the ground right below Robin and Jazz, who both extended out their staffs as they reared back and swung, slamming the hard metal into the robot's face, sending him in the opposite direction, right back into the sky.

Danny grit his teeth as he brought his hands together and lit them up with energy, slamming them down on Skulker, the ghost plummeting back towards more solid, grass-covered ground, the impact letting out a large boom across the area.

The Titans glanced at each other before slowly walking over towards the newly formed crater. Inside, a steaming hunched over figure could be seen. His shoulders shuddered as is he were crying. Turning his head, the Titans could see that he was instead laughing!

Danny narrowed his eyes. "What do you have to laugh about?" He growled.

Skulker raised his head. "Because...this will only get worse for you!"

The others stepped back as they glanced at each other, then back at Danny, who continued to give Skulker a confused look. "Worse? What do you mean?"

Skulker chuckled once more. "I mean, do you really think it will stop at me? Please! I'm not the only ghost who's looking to impress them." He explained. Danny narrowed his eyes once more as his heart pounded at the question he was about to voice. "Who's _them?"_

Skulker grinned. "The Order of Apparitions."

Silence enveloped the teens as the ghost continued. "Every ghost in the Zone is looking to join. SO to to that, they need to impress. And to impress, all they have to do is bring the Order what it wants most." He raised his hand and extended a finger. "You two." He sneered as he pointed to Danny and Robin.

The two boys gave each other confused looks, then turned back to Skulker. "Us? Why us?" Robin asked.

The ghost shrugged. "I don't know. I can understand why they'd want you, Whelp. But I don't get why they want the human boy as well. Nevertheless, every ghost in the Ghost Zone has been preparing and training themselves to take you guys on, capturing you two being their main goal." He explained as he begn to laugh once more. "It doesn't end with me, Whelp! I'm only the first! The rest will come!" He shouted.

Danny clenched his fists as he motioned to Jazz to step forward. She nodded and took out the Fenton Thermos, pointing it in Skulker's direction. The ghost continued to shout as he was slowly sucked in.

"It won't stop. None of us will stop until we have what they want! Watch your back, Whelp! We're coming for you!" He snarled, glowing green eyes burning with fire as the last of him was sucked into the thermos, his last words ringing out over the area, sending chills up Danny's spine.

"You two are the key!"

* * *

 **Finally done!**

 **Congrats to me for writing the longest chapter yet! Whoo! :D**

 **Anyway, I was so happy I was able to get this up before school starts. On a sadder note, now that my first year as a high school freshman is starting, I won't be able to write as much, so it might take longer to get chapters out. At least until I get up to speed with the whole "high school thing."**

 **Anywhoooo...what will Robin and Danny do next?**

 **Just what did Skulker mean when he said it wasn't over?**

 **What does the order want with our two favorite black-haired boys?**

 **Now that the name of the order is out there, what will our heroes do with that information?**

 **So...find out what happens next on The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions!**


	6. Chapter 6:Obsession Part l

**Chapter 6: Obsession**

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **One hour later**

Danny said nothing as he continued to work on the computer in front of him, his fingers flying over the letters, his eyes scanning over every word that came up. Once more, his search came up empty, none of the websites having any of the information he was looking for.

He narrowed his eyes and huffed in anger, shutting down the computer as he placed his hands to his face. He sighed as he dropped one hand and left one on his forehead, keeping his head up as he tried to figure out exactly what was happening.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Quickly whipping around, he came face to face with a concerned Robin. "You okay, Danny?" He asked.

Danny sighed and got up from the table, walking over to the fridge on the other side of the Ops Center. "Yeah, fine." He said curtly as he took a large gulp of ice water, roughly setting the cup down onto the counter. "Can you do me a favor and tell Cyborg to take the others back home?" He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "They really should be getting back."

Robin narrowed his eyes, knowing the boy was acting strange. "Alright, but first I want you to come to the medical wing with me."

Danny glanced at him in confusion until he finally realized he had never gone to the medical wing when he had gotten home. He had gone straight to the Ops Center and begun his research. Glancing to his side, he noticed that he was still wearing the same clothes he had been wearing before when they had left, only most of it was shredded now. A few claw marks slashed across his body as well as some scorch marks from the electric shock and some large bruises.

He sighed once more. "Fine, but let's make it quick."

Arriving at the medical room, Danny sat down on one of the seats, while an already waiting Raven flew over to one of the cabinets and removed the disinfectant. Robin grabbed the gauze as he walked over to his friend. Danny rolled his eyes as Robin made an upwards motion with his finger, the boy removing his slashed clothes until all that was left was his scarred chest.

It was like some 12 year olds had cut him up and tried to stitch him back together, like the frogs they would dissect in the fifth grade. There were the most faded lines, the ones left by a now disbanded GIW. They ran up and down his chest and moved onto his arms, signifying where their scalpels had sliced at him. Next was the large diagonal slash across his full chest, made by Slade a few months back. The scar was long and red as it cut Danny in half. The final few scars were the most recent one, the ones left by Skulker during the night. The wounds were still open, some still dripping out blood.

Raven flew over and poured some disinfectant onto a reg, pressing it onto the wounds. Danny hissed as the alcohol made contact with the injuries, his body tensing until she removed it and Robin walked forward, gauze in hand. Starting with the wounds on his arms, Robin worked in silence, wrapping up the injuries until most of them were cleaned and covered, leaving only the ones on his face.

As he finished, he noticed Danny eyeing the slash across the Boy Wonder's side, guilt evident in his face. Robin gave the boy a small smile. "Hey, it's nothing, D. I barely even feel it." He smirked as he finished up wrapping the wounds, concern filling his chest when Danny didn't respond

"There. Now you look less like you got into a fight with a blender." Robin smirked, the smile fading as Danny slowly made his way out the door, tossing a "thanks" over his shoulder. Raven gave Robin a confused look, the Boy Wonder shrugging his shoulders as he followed the boy out the door.

"Hey, Danny?" He called, the boy turning to glance at him. Robin walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You sure you're okay?" He asked with concern in his eyes. Danny nodded. "Yeah, Rob. I'm fine." He answered, not convincing the boy.

"Cause you know you can tell me anything, right?" He continued.

Danny sighed and gave a curt nod. "I know, Robin. Can you go ahead and let the others know Cy is taking them home." He said.

Robin hesitated, then nodded slowly, watching as Danny turned and continued walking down the hall, turning his head to give one last call.

"And tell Sam I'm sorry," He said as he turned the corner and was gone.

Robin stared down the empty hallway where the boy had disappeared and sighed, pressing his back against the wall as he placed a hand to his forehead, a small headache beginning to take form. Suddenly, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. Opening his eyes, he saw Cyborg, Sam Tucker and Jazz make their way over, Starfire hovering next to them.

"Robin, is everything alright?" Starfire asked as she noticed the boy's slouched posture. Robin glanced down the hallway where Danny had gone once more. "I don't know..." He sighed as he turned to Cyborg and the others. "Cyborg, can you go ahead and the them back to Amity?" He asked.

Cyborg blinked in confusion, knowing this was something Danny normally did, but nodded nonetheless. It was then that Sam realized something was wrong. "Robin? What's wrong? Is Danny okay?" She asked with concern in her eyes. "He was quiet the whole time back to the tower and I haven't really seen him since."

Robin placed a hand to his head. "I don't know, Sam. He's probably just tired. I'll go and talk to him later. Try not to worry about it. Just try and get home safely." He said.

The three friends glanced at each other before nodding hesitantly. "Alright. We'll go. But make sure you keep us updated on any ghost activity. Remember, we also have to deal with them in Amity as well." Jazz instructed.

Robin nodded and watched as the four teens left, leaving only him and Starfire alone in the hallway.

Robin sighed as he turned to face Starfire. "I'm sorry, Star. This...this isn't really how I planned the evening going at all." He admitted with a small smile. Starfire hovered closer. "Robin, although the battle was an unexpected event, I had a wonderful time nonetheless. I thank you for bringing me." She said with a smile as she gave Robin a small kiss on the cheek.

"Now, what is really wrong with friend Danny?" She asked once more.

Robin hesitated then closed his eyes. "I don't know, Star." He glanced as his bandaged side. "But I'm gonna find out."

* * *

Opening the door to his room, Danny quickly walked over to his computer and began to pull up each and every file on ghosts he had fought or found, pulling out the paper-based files from under his bed. Scanning through them, he narrowed his eyes as his search came up empty. Moving on to research, he scanned the web for everything and anything that even had a remote significance to the name Order of Apparitions.

"Alright, Skulker. Just what were you playing at?" He asked himself as he switched from websites to different ghost files, eyes searching for keys, words or clues as to what the Order was and just who might be a part of it.

As he searched, his eyes kept drifting over to one particular file that deeply troubled him. After a while, his fingers kept tumbling over keys as his mind kept him distracted with the file. Finally, he gave in and turned towards the file, flipping it over as the name imprinted on it sent chills up his spine.

 _Vlad Masters a.k.a. Vlad Plasmius_

His stomach twisted as his eyes fell over the picture of Vlad's ghost form, remembering the last time he had seen it. He shut his eyes as he remembered hitting Vlad's face with an ecto-blast, the man letting out an ear-piercing scream as it had been revealed that the blast had burned away the right side of his face.

He shuddered at the memory, narrowing his eyes at the file in his hands, the edges wrinkling under his grip as his hands shook. He let out an angered growl as he threw the file across the room, papers scattering everywhere.

Placing his elbows onto the table, he propped his head up with his hands, a migraine beginning to form in his mind. Not doubt, Robin was having the same feeling. A small smile graced Danny's lips at the thought of Robin and his laughable antics. The smile quickly disappeared as the image of Robin sprawled on the floor, Skulker hovering over him, came back to him.

Shaking his head, Danny delved back into scanning the rest of the files, glancing up at the large bulletin board that had yet to be used hanging above his computer. Narrowing his eyes, he dug into his drawers and pulled out handfuls of pins and different colored strings as he began to tear through papers, sticking them to the bulletin, pinning them here while stringing up others over there.

Time flew past him as he tried to crack the mystery that was The Order of Apparitions.

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **Two days later**

"Anything yet?" Robin asked as Raven entered the room.

The sorceress shook her head as she joined the others around the couch. "No. Whatever the Order of Apparitions is, they're recent. None of my books had any information on them." She explained.

Beastboy groaned and slumped lower in his seat. "Man, how long are we going to research these guys? It's soooo boring!" He whined as he banged the back of his head over and over on the back of the couch, earning a whack on the head from Cyborg.

"As long as we have to." Robin replied from his seat next to the Titans' computer, his searches also coming up empty.

"Yes, if these Order of Apparition characters plan on getting to Robin and Danny, then we must do everything we can to apprehend them." Starfire said firmly. Cyborg nodded besides her. "Yeah, man. Whoever these guys are, they sound like bad news. And I really don't like the idea of them targeting you, Rob. Or Danny for that matter."

Beastboy raised his head. "Speaking of, have any of you guys seen Danny? I haven't heard from him in days."

Robin flinched as the boy's name arose. He lowered his gaze and placed a hand to the bridge of his nose. The others noticed his reaction and gazed at each other in confusion. "Uhh, Rob? Is there something wrong with Danny?" Cyborg asked warily.

Robin sighed and twisted around, coming to face the others. "Honestly, I don't know. He hasn't come out of his room for a while and the door is always locked. Ever since our battle with Skulker, he's been...distant." He revealed.

"But we don't even know if Skulker was telling the truth. For all we know, he could have made this Order of Apparitions up just to mess with us." Cyborg stated.

Robin shook his head. "From what I've read, Skulker isn't the type to do that. He's more the type to boast and brag." he explained.

Beastboy tilted his head. "Read? Read where?"

"Danny has over a hundred files on his computer and on paper of all the ghosts he's ever fought or met. He goes over them every once in awhile whenever he's stumped sometimes." Robin explained to the others.

"He really _is_ like you." Raven monotoned.

"Yeah dude. That's probably what he's doing right now. Going over every file he's ever had to try and see if there's any information on this Order he can dig up." Beastboy joked, becoming confused as everyone paused, taking in what he had said.

"Oh no." Robin sighed.

But before anyone could say anything else, a red blaring filled the tower as the crime alert activated. Rushing back to the computer, Robin pulled up a map of the city. "Trouble in the Main Square!" He shouted, twisting around as Phantom rushed into the room. "What are we waiting for. Let's move!" He shouted, rushing back out the door, the others giving each other quick looks before rushing out as well.

* * *

 **Central J.C.**

People screamed as they ran for their lives, those dumb enough to stay and gawk at the ghost watching as she tore the streets with the sound of her guitar. "Are you guys ready to rock?!" She shouted as she hovered over the crowd.

The people glanced around and muttered to themselves, unsure of why the bad guy was asking them to party. Ember rolled her eyes at the silence. "How is it that you dweebs are more dead than the ghosts in the Zone?" She snarled at them angrily, only to shout out in surprise as a bright green blast hit her in the chest, sending her flying backwards.

"Maybe you should just stick to your own crowds!" Danny shouted as he flew over. "These guys seem too good at hearing to listen to you!" He sniped as the other Titans appearing around him. Ember flew back over, guitar firmly grasped in hand as she scanned over the group of teens.

"Just the kids I was looking for. What'd you do, Dipstick? Get yourself a new pair of freaks to hang out with?" She sneered as she glanced from the changeling to the sorceress and back to the cyborg.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here, Ember? Did the ghosts in the Zone finally get enough of that so called 'music' of yours and kick you out?" He glared.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you know why I'm here, dweeb." She smirked. "Skulker probably made it quite clear."

Danny grit his teeth as he floated down to the ground, back to the Titans. "I didn't know you'd be dumb enough to try something like this. Obviously I was wrong."

Ember shut her eyes and let out a loud laugh, placing a hand to her forehead. "Man, are you really this stupid! Listen Baby Pop, you're only dumb if you _don't_ try and get in with them. Right now, they are at the top of the food chain, one of the most feared groups in the Zone. Getting in with them is every ghost in the Zone's top priority. And the key to getting in is none other than you, Dipstick. Well...you and that little friend of yours." Ember smirked, pointing a gloved finger towards Robin, the boy, in turn gripping his staff tighter.

Danny clenched his fists. "Well, if you heard anything else from Skulker, then you know that won't be happening!" He snarled as he charged forward, hands glowing as he fired an ecto-blast straight for the girl. Letting a loose smile fall into he face, Ember gripped her guitar tightly as she readied herself, raising the instrument up right as the blast came forward, deflecting the blast right back towards the boy, who was able to create a shield around himself, the hit knocking him backwards still.

Raven and Starfire flew forward. Starfire let out a snarl as she shot forward, shooting a laser from her eyes towards the girl, she roughly strummed her guitar, a large purple shockwave shooting out, driving the alien back. Raven flew up, encasing various objects on the street in magic as she hurled them at the ghost.

Ember smirked and clicked the knob on her guitar a few clicks and strummed a cord, the objects flying at her now becoming purple instead of black as Ember gained control instead. She grinned and strummed the instrument once more, the objects shooting towards Raven, who was slammed on all sides and fell to the ground.

Suddenly, a blue blast whizzed past the girl's head, another hitting her in the stomach, sending her shooting backwards where she slammed into the back of a building. Whipping her head up, she glared menacingly at Cyborg as the boy advanced, Beastboy running as a lion besides him. Narrowing her eyes, she moved her fingers over the strings of the guitar as she plucked and strummed different notes at the neck of the instrument until she let out all the built up energy with one strong strum of the strings, the pavement under the teens' feet exploding, sending them tumbling backwards.

She grinned, only to gasp as something hard and metallic hit her in the shoulder. Whipping around she watched as Robin twirled the staff before getting into a fighting stance once more. Gripping the neck of her guitar tightly, Robin watched as the body of the guitar began to sharpen until the edges resembled that of a double sided ax.

Raising it over her head, Ember let out a shout as she brought it swinging down, Robin raising his own staff to counter the girl's attack as he pushed upwards, the guitar bouncing back as the boy slipped to the side, the ax smashing the pavement where he had once been standing. Rolling aside, Robin twirled the staff and swung it towards the girl's legs, sweeping them straight out from under her, the ghost crashing to the ground.

She glared up at him as he pointed his staff at her. She grinned and phased right through the ground, leaving the boy scanning the area in confusion. That is, until he felt a large blast hit him from below, sending him flying into the air, where he landed roughly on his back a few feet away.

He groaned and stood back up, facing the girl once more. Suddenly, a black and silver blur zoomed past him and hit the girl right in the stomach, sending her tumbling. Danny panted as he hovered above her. "I can see you've been practicing." He huffed.

"You got that right, Baby Pop. Every ghost in the Zone is." She sneered, strumming her guitar once more, the blast hitting Danny in the chest, sending him crashing into one of the nearby stores. "We know you can't take us all down. So now all we have to see if who will be the lucky ghost to get you at the right moment and take you two in." She explained as she approached, her blue hair blazing wildly, showing just how much power she had contained in her now.

"And it _will_ be me!" She shouted as she surged forward, only to let out a yell of shock as something barreled into her. Rearing back she watched as Cyborg extended his arm, sonic cannon appearing, aiming straight for her chest. "Sorry, little lady. But I think it's time for your final act." He growled.

Ember shrugged her shoulders. "Well...you know what they say." She smirked as she charged forward, throwing Cyborg off as he retracted his cannon and chose instead to overpower her as she grabbed onto his fists and the two began to engage into a battle of strength. "Always leave them wanting more!" She shouted as Cyborg began to realize that she was overpowering him.

He gulped as she threw him over her shoulder and into one of the nearby cars. Beastboy growled and transformed into a monkey, letting out a screech as he fell onto her shoulders. ""Get off! Ember shouted as he hair flamed even bigger, burning the monkey's arms as he dropped to the floor and reverted back into human form, clutching his arm in pain.

He gasped as Ember hovered over him, hand poised over her guitar, when suddenly she was tackled by Danny, the two ghosts tumbling on the ground together as they tried to overpower the other. It was then that Danny began to realize just _how_ powerful Ember had gotten. Her eyes glowed a deadly green as they rolled, her hair flickering brightly.

Suddenly, he felt sharp, thin strings wrap around his wrists and torso, pulling him backwards. "What the heck?!" He shouted in confusion as he realized Ember's guitar was floating behind him, the strings tightly wrapped around his limbs. "You aren't the only one who can learn new tricks." She sneered as her fists glowed a bright purple as she stalked forward.

Danny grit his teeth. "I don't you even want to join this group. I've fought you enough times to know you don't work well with others, given your past experiences, Ember. So why would you even want to team up with this Order. You barely know anything about it. Admit it! You don't!" He shouted.

Ember rolled her eyes. "You still don't get it, Dipstick! Joining this group will almost guarantee total domination!" She stalked forward. "And I'll stop at nothing to join. Neither will any ghost in the Zone."

She glanced down at her nails. "Let's face it, Danny. You're totally screwed. If the Order wants you two, they will stop at _nothing_ to get you. Whether that means destroying the rest of your team and everything else you hold dear, then so be it. Actually, now that I think about it, that seems like something they would do anyway." She smirked, smiling harder at the look of horror on the boy's face, which quickly turned to anger as he yanked hard on the strings, the wires cutting into his skin.

She grinned and grabbed the boy's face, getting nose to nose with him. "You can't keep them safe. Not from the Order. You're doomed." She sneered. "You and your little friend over there." She turned away for a moment in thought. "Actually, I would love to see what they do to that guy over there." She grinned, a laugh escaping her lips. "HA! He won't last a day!"

That was it.

Danny let out a roar of rage as he tore through the strings and hit the girl with a blast right in the cheek, sending her flying backwards. Zooming after her, he built up a large blast of ice in his hand and send it hurtling towards the girl, hitting her in the chest, her body becoming encased in ice. Danny snarled as he flew forward and rammed an ecto-powered fist into the frozen girl, the ice around her shattering on impact, a large shockwave blasting out across the area, frost beginning to float down from the sky.

Ember crumpled to the ground, holding her head in pain as the icy grip of the ice drained her strength. She groaned and lifted her gaze, staring down the fiery gaze of a furious green-eyes halfa. Danny growled as he reached down and grabbed the girl by the straps on her shirt. "Tell me what you know." He snarled, getting into her face.

Ember felt her chest constrict, fearful for the first time in her afterlife of the ghost teen. Of course, she would never show it in her face. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. ""All I know is that you should be afraid of them, Dipstick. Every other ghost is!""

Danny's eyes blazed as he growled and roughly dropped the ghost on the ground, reaching behind his back as he did so. Ember almost expected him to blast her with a deadly ecto-blast, but for the first time, she was actually revealed to see the Fenton Thermos.

Quickly sucking in the girl, Danny turned away and tucked the thermos back into his belt. "This was a waste of time." He muttered to himself as he turned away. "Let's just hurry up and get back to the tower." He growled to the others, not waiting for a response as he flew off.

"Um...go team?" Beastboy nervously chuckled as he glanced at the others, who mostly stared at Robin.

The boy shook his head as he met their stares, signifying he had no idea what was up with the teen, but he was going to find out _soon._

He glanced nervously at the damage that had been done by Danny's fight.

 _Hopefully real soon._


	7. Chapter 7: Fear Part ll

**Chapter 7: Fear Part ll**

* * *

 **One week later**

Danny glanced up and down at the fully covered board in front of him. Pictures of different ghosts lay tacked onto it, different strings attached here and there. Everything from what ghosts might try to attack next to who might actually be in the Order.

Gazing at the information, a yawn escaped his lips. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear his mind from the exhaustion that licked away at his strength, not that the rest of him fared that much better. His hair was matted and messy, well...messier than usual. His clothes were rumpled and his eyelids dropped.

He snapped out of the daze and growled at his own tiredness. Walking into the bathroom that adjoined with his room, he twisted the handles. water rushing out of the faucet. Cupping his hands together, Danny let the cold water pool into his palms and splashed it against his face, the icy feel of the liquid refreshing him as he washed away most of his drowsiness.

Walking back into the room, he heard a knock on his door and groaned, straightening his hair and shirt as he walked over. Opening his door a crack, he could make out the concerned face of a masked teen. "What is it, Robin?" He asked, none of his usual cheeriness evident in his voice, which concerned Robin greatly.

"Hey, D. Just checking to see how you were doing. We haven't seen you come out of your room for a while."

"That's because I haven't left." Danny replied in a way not unlike Raven's usual voice, which unnerved Robin even more than before.

"Well, have you at least eaten anything?"

Danny narrowed his eyes. "I don't have time for this, Robin." He growled as he was about to shut the door, only to have Robin block the way as the boy narrowed his eyes and got closer. "Tough. Make some time, then. We need to talk." His frustration finally getting the best of him. Danny had been getting more and more reclusive every fight they would encounter, not to mention angrier and more aggressive.

It was like he wasn't himself

But before the boys could say anything they would later regret, a blaring filled the tower for the third time that week, no doubt ghost-related once more, just like all the others.

Danny sniffed. "Looks like we have no more _time._ Guess this will have to wait." He growled as he transformed into Phantom and flew down the hallway. Robin clenched his fists, knowing he would have to have serious talk with the stubborn boy once they got back.

* * *

 **Downtown J.C.**

Danny narrowed his eyes as he scanned the area, trying to locate where the trouble was, only to have confusion appear on his face as he flew back down to join the others. "I don't understand. This is where the distress signal came from, right?" He asked curtly to the others, who nodded.

Suddenly a chill traveled down Danny's spine as a light blue wisp escaped past his lips. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists as the ghost appeared. He had green skin, large black eyes that mimicked the look of glasses, and a grey coat over top a long black suit.

"Technus." Danny growled as he charged up his fists.

Technus laughed. "Yes, it is I! Technus! Master of all things technological and electrical! Come here to..." He paused and glanced at his hand, which from afar, Danny could make out a few scribbled words written on them as if the ghost had rehearsed what he was shouting to the heavens. "AHA! Come here to seek out and capture...you two!" He grinned, pointing straight at Robin and Danny.

Danny harrowed his eyes as he charged his fists.

Technus tilted his head in confusion. "No witty comebacks, Ghost Child. That is unlike you." The ghost sneered.

"Not in the mood." Danny growled as he rushed forward, ramming into the man, sending him flying backwards and into a line of parked cars.. Rearing back, Danny fired a barrage of ecto-blasts at the grounded ghost, the bolts hitting the ghost as well as the ground and cars around him.

"I think you got him!" Robin shouted from the ground. Danny paused after realizing just how long he had been firing and slowly flew back down to the ground. Finally, Robin was able to take a good look at the boy. He looked...tired. As if he hadn't slept in a while. His skin was paler than usual, but his eyes still glowed with their same fiery intensity. But as Robin got a closer look, he could see that they were burning brighter than usual. And there was something deeper behind the anger in them. Fear.

"Is he down? Did we get him?" Beastboy asked as they stared at the smoke arising, a deep rumbling beginning to sound behind it.

"Nope." Danny growled as he charged his fists once more.

As the rumbling continued, the Titans began to notice that more and more things were beginning to travel towards the smoke, disappearing within it. Computers, tablets, phones, TVs, stereos, etc. As more and more objects banded together, the Titans realized that something was growing from behind the smoke's veil, getting larger and larger with every new item until a large three-story electrical robot stood before them, many faces appearing on the TV screens implanted in it.

"Come and get me, Ghost Child!" Technus screamed as the robot reared back a fist and smashed the pavement where the Titans had stood moments before.

"Titans, GO!" Robin shouted as they leapt forward.

Danny and Starfire flew up towards the robots head and fired blast after blast at the monster as it kept it entertained, the robot not even noticing Raven as she raised up four large cars and hurled them at the robot, the impacts knocking it backwards. Letting out a roar of rage, the machine raised it's fists as it released handfuls of large sharp discs, shooting straight for the three teens.

Danny grabbed both girls' hands and turned them intangible as the discs flew right threw them. As they became tangible again, Technus curled his mechanical hands into fists and slammed them down on the teens, sending them crashing to the ground.

Beastboy charged forward, transforming into a T-Rex as he did so, slamming into the robot's chest as he drove it backwards. Technus growled and grabbed the dinosaur's tail, swinging it over his head and releasing, sending the creature slamming into the surrounding buildings, where he promptly reverted back into human form.

Robin narrowed his eyes as he ran towards the creature, Cyborg besides him as the two tried to take out the robot's legs. Robin jumped up and planted a handful of explosives on one of the robot's legs, the devices beeping rapidly before exploding, taking a chunk of the robot with it. Cyborg blasted away at the remaining leg, shooting it off piece by piece.

Technus snarled and reached down, grabbing Robin in one hand while flicking Cyborg away with the other. Glaring down at the human in his hands, Technus smirked as he recognized him. "Ahh...you're one of those boys they want. Excellent. Now that I have you in my grasp, attaining the other will guarantee that I, Technus will earn admittance into the Order of-" Before he could finish his long-winded plan, Danny flew forward as he charged up a large ecto-blast in his hands, shooting it forward angrily, blasting the robot backwards, who immediately dropped Robin.

The Boy Wonder let out a started yelp as he began to plummet to the ground, only to have Danny latch onto his shoulders and place him back down on the ground. Flying back up, Danny faced the robot angrily. "So you do know what it is. So tell me, Master of Plan Shouting, just what exactly is the Order of Apparitions?!" He shouted, flying forward as he planted a roundhouse kick to the robot's head.

Technus growled and reared back, large fist smashing into the boy, sending him hurtling backwards, crashing into many windows along the road. "Only a group of some of the most powerful ghosts in the Ghost Zone. And once I obtain you and that little friend of yours, admittance will be in my grasp!" He shouted as he advanced towards Robin once more, fists crackling with energy as he pointed them at the boy as he helped Raven up.

Danny's eyes glowed violently as his fists shook. "Leave him alone!" He snarled as he raced forward once more and smashed into the robot, tearing at the different electronics and machinery. Finally, he phased straight into the machine, reappearing with the real Technus in his grasp.

The Titans watched as the large machine swayed before the TV screens went black and the machines fell apart into a large pile. They stared at each other in confusion, then whipped around at the sound of Danny.

"Where are they? Who are they? I know you know something, Technus! So spill!" He shouted, green eyes flaring. The Titans gazed at each other worriedly, none of them wanting to get in between Danny and the ghost at the moment.

Technus chuckled. "As if I would ever tell you anything, child!"

Danny's eyes burned violently, illuminating the air around him with the same eerie green. "Than you're worthless. Even more than usual" He growled, gripping the thermos tightly as he sucked in a screaming Technus.

Robin narrowed his eyes at the boy's stiff posture, the others gathering around behind him. Walking forward, Robin placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hey, Danny...are you-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Danny shouted, fists clenched.

Robin jumped back in surprise at the boy's sudden aggression, the other Titans doing the same. Danny narrowed his eyes as he glanced at them, letting out a sigh. "Why are we still here? We're doing nothing but wasting time. Every moment we stall, the Order gets another step ahead of us!" He growled as he flew back towards the tower, leaving behind a very confused group of Titans.

Cyborg glanced at the others as they walked over to Robin. "Okay, I think it's official. Danny's gone nuts"

Starfire nodded. "I must agree. He has been...angry lately." She sighed, confused as to why the boy she considered as one of her best friends was acting so...so reclusive.

Raven hovered over. "Something's definitely wrong, Robin. And I'm pretty sure you're the only one who can get close enough to really figure it out." She explained.

Beastboy chuckled. "Yeah man, he's acting _exactly_ like-"

"Like when I was obsessed with Slade." Robin finished with a grim expression. "Meaning I have to do something now."

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

Danny groaned in frustration as the search came to a dead end once more. He narrowed his eyes and turned to the large board in front of him once more, putting up another pin, connecting it to another part of string.

Turning back, he shuffled some of the files away, most of them scattered around his room, and focused on the main ones he had pinpointed. He grit his teeth and turned back to the board once more, scribbling something down on a sticky-note before placing it up on the board.

Time passed around him as he continued to work. Minutes, hours, he didn't care. All he wanted to do was find out everything about this Order, and put a stop to it. Just as he was about to connect another piece of string to a pin, a loud knock on his door disrupted him from his thoughts.

He narrowed his eyes, his train of thought lost as he continued to work. He barely even noticed his door slide open and someone walk in. _Hmm..I thought I locked that._ He mumbled to himself as he continued to stare at the board, the newcomer barely registering to him.

"Danny?" Robin called as he walked over. He narrowed his eyes as the boy seemed to be deep in thought. Turning to glance at where the boy was staring, Robin gasped at what he saw. A large bulletin board filled with pictures, papers and files hung over Danny's computer. Pins were stuck into everything, different colored strings tied to the ends of them then hung up all over the board, each and every one leading to the same picture in the middle of the board.

Vlad Plasmius.

Robin whipped his head back to Danny, who was writing something down onto another piece of paper. Looking him over, Robin could now see the boy even better, now that they weren't in the heat of battle.

He definitely looked tired, just like before. But now Robin could see the bags under his eyes and the dull color of his normally bright irises. His clothes were ruffled and unkempt and Robin was sure he could here the boy's stomach rumbling every couple minutes, but Danny didn't even seem to hear it.

Narrowed his eyes, Robin walked forward and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Danny, I really think you need to take a break." He said firmly.

Danny let out a groan, as if he had barely even heard the boy.

Robin took one more look at the large board and Danny's scraggly appearance and took a deep breath, knowing exactly what road Danny was about to embark one. One that once you were on, it was nearly impossible to get off. Furrowing his brow, Robin reached out and firmly grabbed Danny's wrist, the boy letting out a yelp of shock as he was roughly dragged into the hallway, past the other doors and pushed out onto the roof.

The smell of salt water greeted Danny as he was roughly shoved onto the roof, but it did little to calm his nerves...or his anger. "Robin, what the heck was that all about?!" He growled, glowering at the masked boy. Robin crossed his arms. "You and I need to talk, Danny. NOW." He said firmly.

Danny glared for a moment longer before rolling his eyes. "I told you I don't have time for this." He growled as he glanced towards the ground, about to turn intangible and phase back down into his room, when he saw out of the corner of his eye that Robin had now pulled something small and round out of his belt and had thrown it on the ground under Danny's feet.

Before Danny could even blink, he was encased in a bright transparent bubble, a soft green glow shining off of it. His face contorted into confusion, then into anger as he grit his teeth. "What the...On no. You did not just BUBBLE ME!" He snarled, his eyes glowing a violent green.

"Funny, cause it looks like I just did." Robin snapped back, a small button on his belt glowing, signifying the device Cyborg had built for him was currently working. Danny practically had steam coming out of his ears. "I swear, once I get out of here I am gonna kick your ass all the way across the bay!" He snarled.

Robin narrowed his eyes. "The only way you're getting out of there is if you tell me what's going on with you." He explained firmly.

Danny huffed and crossed his arms, tilting his head downwards. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong. Well, yes. Something actually is wrong. MY PSYCHOTIC BROTHER TRAPPED ME IN A BUBBLE!" He exclaimed in frustration.

Robin shrugged his shoulders. "Scream all you want, Danny. I have all night. But you aren't getting out of there until you talk to me." He said once more.

Danny narrowed his eyes and sat down in the bubble. Robin sighed and walked closer. "Come on, Danny. Just talk to me. It's never been hard for you before." He pleaded softly.

Danny shut his eyes tightly as he hugged his knees. "It wasn't like this before." he mumbled quietly, just loud enough for Robin to hear. The Boy Wonder advanced closer, Danny sighing as he did so. "I've never been so confused before, Rob." He finally confessed. "I've never even heard of the Order of Apparitions! I have no clue who they are, what they do, I didn't even know they existed two weeks ago!" He shouted.

"But now that Skulker turned out correct. Now that all these ghosts keep coming after us over and over again I...I..." He stopped and placed a hand to his head. "I'm tired, Robin. I'm so tired."

"I'm tired and...and I'm scared." The boy confessed. "Everything is being thrown at me so fast, I can barely keep up with it! First the Order, then all the ghosts keep coming back over and over and to make it worse, they're targeting you." He sighed.

Robin shook his head slightly. "They're targeting you too." He said softly.

Danny scoffed. "Please. At least I've dealt with...something like this before. I would get attacked by ghost every day in Amity. But...but now it's so worse. Cause now I don't just have Sam, Tucker and Jazz to worry about. Now I have the Titans and you to worry about. And that makes it so much harder because...because..." He faltered, his voice cracking. "What if something happens to you guys? To you?" He choked out, his hands shaking.

Robin furrowed his brow in concern and reached down to his belt, pressing the small bright light, the bubble encircling Danny dissipating, the boy falling to the ground. But he didn't even seem to realize. "I never should have brought you guys into this. It's bad enough the ghosts are after you, but we still know Vlad is out there somewhere and something in my gut is telling me he has something to do with this." Danny growled.

"Robin...Vlad's my Slade." He explained. "And you know what happened the last time we faced off against the other's enemy. We _both_ almost died. Now just imagine Slade with ghost powers and extremely powerful ghostly accomplices!" He shouted.

Robin rubbed the back of his neck. "I kind of don't have to imagine. That pretty much sums up exactly what happened this summer." He said.

"Exactly! And to think we might have to do it all again?! I...I can't ! I can't do that again, Robin! I...I-"

"Hey." Robin cut in. "Nobody's expecting you do have to do that again." Robin said, crouching down on the ground along with Danny, who shook his head. "You don't understand, Robin. Even if there's a slight chance of something like that happening again, I have to do everything I can to stop it."

Robin tilted his head. "But we can hel-"

"NO! Don't you understand, Robin! What if you guys get involved and something happens? And you all get hurt or worse?" He shut his eyes tightly, speaking again in a much quieter voice. "Dick...I'm scared. I'm so scared. I'm scared of losing you guys. Of losing you. And every day the Order is out there, that possibility grows and grows and I can't stand it." He cried, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes as his hands began to shake.

Robin placed a hand on his shoulder as he placed his mask on the ground next to to his knees. "Is that why you've been acting so..." He trailed off.

Danny lowered his gaze. "I thought that if I could find them, if I could focus all my energy on figuring out the mystery behind them, then I could keep you guys safe. That I would be able to fix everything." He narrowed his eyes. "But now I see what an idiot I am. The...the ghosts were right."

Dick lifted his head.

"There really _is_ nothing I can do. Nothing I can say or do to stop this from happening."

Dick shook his head. "Danny, no-" He started, only to get cut off as Danny stood up. "NO, Dick. Don't you understand? It's...it's happening all over again!" He shouted, frantically running his fingers through his hair. "THis is exactly what I feared before during the Identity Crisis. This is exactly why I didn't want my friends near me. Because I knew that I would be putting them in danger." He explained.

"And now it's happening again. Only this time...it's you. You and the rest of the team. The Order must have been watching us. Watching me. They must have seen how close I am with all of you and now they're using it against us! They're making my worst nightmare a reality and I can't wake up, Dick!" He screamed as he fell to his knees, his eyes glazing over in fear. Fear Dick hadn't seen on the boy's face since the GIW had disbanded.

"I can't let them hurt you guys. I just can't. I can't. I can't. I-"

"Danny." Dick soothed, wiping away a stray tear as it rolled across his cheek, the boy finally stopping as he gazed back. "I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?" He asked.

Danny blinked a few times, then slowly nodded his head.

Dick sighed. "I wish I could say I knew how you felt. And trust me, I do know a little about this. Being leader of a team that really feels more like family can make you feel overprotective of them more times than not, especially when it comes to villains like Slade, but I honestly can't tell you that I've ever felt what you're feeling right now."

"But I do know one thing, Danny. It's that it doesn't matter what villains we face. No matter how many numbers they have, or what the chances are. It doesn't matter because we're family, Danny. And we'll always be family."

Danny lowered his gaze as Dick continued. "Whatever happens next, Danny, we'll face it together. I don't care if the next attack happens now or two years from now. We'll always be watching. But you can't do it alone. You just can't. Trust me. I know exactly what's happening here because I've done it too."

Danny lifted his head as Dick continued. "Yeah. WHen Slade first appeared, I was as paranoid as paranoid can get. I even went as far as to making a hologram of myself to trick the rest of the team."

"Wow." Danny said, the first word he had said yet, but Dick took the underlying sarcasm behind it as a good sign that his brother was beginning to return to normal piece by piece.

"uh huh. But I guess something good did come out of it. I learned that by trying to protect your team, by trying to figure something as big as this out on your own, you actually put the ones you're trying to protect in even more danger." He explained.

"Which is why we need to do this together. Because that's how we will always handle problems. Together." He said, gently shaking Danny's shoulder slightly, the boy giving a small smile. "Now stop being such a big jerk. Remember, that's my name." Dick joked, Danny laughing for the first time in weeks.

Dick sighed, then faced Danny once more. "Danny, I promise you we'll figure this out. We will find the Order of Apparitions and take them down."

Danny lifted his gaze and smiled. "Together."

The two boys smiled as they gazed up at the starry sky, the brisk wind sending goosebumps across their skin, but they didn't really care at the moment, that is until a loud growling filled the air.

A laugh escaped Dick's lips as he glanced at Danny. "Something tells me we need to feed that stomach of yours." He joked, Danny shrugging his shoulders. "A good night's sleep sounds good too."

They laughed as Dick placed his mask back on and the two boys walked back into the tower. Neither of them noticing the shadow that watched them from afar. She smirked as she watched the two boys disappear as the door to the roof closed. But it didn't matter. She had all the information she needed. SHe let out a laugh as she disappeared into the night sky, leaving no trace she had even been there in the first place.


	8. Chapter 8: Interlude

**Chapter 8: Interlude**

* * *

 **Amity Park**

Sam yawned as she continued to ignore Lancer's lecture. Glancing down, she continued to slowly doodle in her notebook. After a while she began to realize she was doodling the DP symbol all across her paper. " _Looks like someone misses her boyfriend."_ Tucker whispered from the seat next to her.

Sam threw him a half-hearted glare even though she knew he was right. Robin had messaged that Danny was going through something, something bad and it pained her that she couldn't be there for him. With more and more ghosts showing up looking for him, the Titans North were busier than ever. She couldn't just up and leave them.

She sighed and continued to doodle, once more, ignoring Lancer. Suddenly, a loud beeping filled the room, startling all the students, even awaking the sleeping ones and Sam and Tucker's watches began to flash red. Quickly standing from their seats, they glanced at Lancer. He sighed. "Go. But try not to get yourselves killed. Especially not on school property." He groaned.

The two teens nodded at each other and ran out the classroom, the other students running out along with them, hoping to get a glimpse of the action. "Wait! Class is not dismissed!" Lancer shouted, then moaned in frustration and walked out as well.

Quickly running down the hallway, Tucker turned the dial on his locker, the door swinging open as he grabbed the Fenton Thermos as well as his whip and a few ecto-blasters. Tossing Sam her gloves, the two quickly made their way outside. "Glad you could join us!" Valerie said as Jazz exited the building as well.

"What's the problem?" She asked as she reached towards her belt and pulled out her ecto-staff. Valerie pointed up into the sky. "That." She growled as her suit materialized around her. Glancing up, the others saw Johnny 13 flying high on his motorcycle, a dark shape moving around him as Kitty sat behind him.

"Johnny." Jazz growled as she gripped her staff tighter.

The boy winked at her. "Hey, girl. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" He smirked at her.

She snarled. "I'm not your girl."

The boy shrugged. "Your loss." He chuckled nervously and got back to the point with one well-placed glare from Kitty. Anyway...I'm not really here for you. I'm here for that brother of yours."

The teens glanced at each other in confusion. "Umm...Danny's not here." Tucker said as he scratched the back of his neck. "He's in Jump with the other Titans."

Johnny gazed at him in confusion for a moment, before slamming his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Ugg!" He groaned, shouting out in shock as Kitty thwacked him upside the head. "I told you he wasn't here, Johnny! But you just can't seem to listen to me, can you?" She growled at him.

The teens glanced at each other as they watched the lovers' spat. "Umm..." Sam coughed, trying to remind the ghosts that they were still there.

Johnny straightened his jacket. "Whatever. Then we'll just go to Jump and find the little punk." He started, only to duck right under a large purple blast that flew right past his head. "You will not! The last thing he needs is even more ghosts around there messing with him and the other Titans" Sam growled, readying herself into a defensive stance.

Johnny smirked. "Oh, yeah? Well who's gonna stop me?" The smug look quickly washed away as a whip cracked, a staff was twirled and the distinct whine of a charging gun was heard. "I'll give you four guesses!" Valerie shouted as her board appeared underneath her feet as she jumped into the air and shot forward.

Johnny revved his bike and dove underneath the girl's attack, Kitty letting out a cry of shock at the sharp movement. "Shadow!" The biker called as he flew through the sky, trying his best to avoid the hunter's blasts.

The dark shape that made up his shadow began to materialize as it grew a mind of its own and glanced at it's master. "Attack!" Johnny shouted a he pointed towards the teens gathered father off. Shadow grinned as a growl escaped its throat as he dove forward.

Sam narrowed her eyes and charged up her gloves, raising her hands as she shot a barrage of purple blasts towards the shadow, the creature diving into the ground to avoid the attacks. Glancing down around the ground around her, Sam warily eyes the grass as she searched for the ghost, letting out a yell of shock as the ghost shot upwards from under her, punching her in the jaw, sending her flying backwards.

Tucker jumped forward, cracking his whip as he wrapped it around the ghost, pressing the small button at the end of the handle, surged of electricity coursing through its shadow of a body until it let out a roar and materialized itself around the whip, the weapon limply falling to the ground. Tucker chuckled nervously, Shadow letting out a growl as he whipped his tail around and hit Tucker in the side, sending him tumbling across the courtyard.

Jazz let out a shout of anger as she leapt across the ground, driving the ecto-powered staff into the shadow's chest. She gasped as the creature smirked, yanking the staff out of him, dropping it onto the grass. Jazz narrowed her eyes and shifted into a defensive stance. Shadow growled and surged forward, not expecting Jazz to reach behind her and yank out her phone, pressing a single button on the side of the device, blinding Shadow with the light o the screen.

He screeched in pan as the light made his skin sizzle. It was a long enough distraction for Valerie to fly forward and grab Jazz's hand, yanking her onto the board with her as she fired a barrage of blasts at the ghost.

Sam watched as Valerie and Jazz were chased throughout the sky, Shadow right on their tail. She narrowed her eyes and ran over to Tucker. "Hurry up, Tucker!" She shouted, raising her hands as she fired her own blasts at Shadow a he flew. "Working on it!" Tucker growled back as he continued to rummage through the school blueprints, trying to find where to draw the creature.

"Well work faster!" She shouted, getting the last word out right as the hard metal of a hoverboard rammed into her stomach, sending her and the other two girls tumbling on the ground. Tucker's eyes widened as he glanced at the girls. "Crap!" He muttered to himself as he willed his fingers to move faster as he searched.

Shadow flew down, growling as he slowly advanced towards the girls. Jazz groaned as she raised her head, gasping as Shadow stalked closer. Narrowing her eyes, she grit her teeth as she reached into her belt and pulled out the Fenton Wrist Rays, not even bothering to strap it onto her wrist as she fired, hitting the ghost straight in the chest, leaving a gaping hole that slowly filled itself in.

Shadow growled, a large smile spreading onto his face. "GOT IT!" Tucker shouted, reaching towards his whip, cracking it in front of the creature just before it could lay a finger on the girls. "Hey, Spooky! Come and get me!" He shouted. beckoning for Jazz and Valerie to follow. "Come on!" He shouted, the girls quickly jumping to their feet as the four teens sprinted into the school, while Sam readied her gloves as she stared down Johnny and his girlfriend

"Scuse' me!

"Pardon me!"

"Move it!"

The teens roughly shoved the kids who were watching the fight out of the way as they ran through the halls. They could hear Shadow roaring as he followed close behind. "What's the plan, Tuck?!" Valerie shouted.

"Left!" The boy responded, the teens barely having time to skid to the side as they ran down the connected hallway. "Quick, in here!" He shouted, opening a door for the girls to run through, entering himself right as Shadow entered the hallway.

Letting out a growl, Shadow slowly flew down the hallway, stopping at the door where the teens had disappeared. Narrowing his eyes, he phased through, the wood rotting as he did so.

It was dark. Scanning around, he listened for the sound of the hunters, a deep growl escaping his throat as he searched. Suddenly, he heard a click as he was blinded by bright fluorescent lights as Tucker flipped on the switch. He let out a pained screech, the light burning his body as they burned bright.

Jazz narrowed her eyes and reached to her side, removing the top to the Fenton Thermos as she pointed it at the ghost, quickly sucking him in, one last screech echoing off the walls. Letting out a sigh of relief, Jazz placed the thermos back into it's holder, the others moving forward.

"Nice job, Tuck." The redhead smiled as they made their way towards the door.

"I do have some talents." Tucker beamed, straightening his hat.

Making their way back outside, they smirked as Sam walked towards them. "Johnny and Kitty?" Valerie asked, letting out a chuckle as Sam shook the thermos in her hands, signifying the ghosts had met the same fate as Shadow.

"Alright, guys. All in all another good day." Tucker smirked placing his arms around the girls.

Sam smirked. "Well, sure have changed around here."

They chuckled as they made their way back into the school, the others students gawking at them as they made their way back to class.

Yep. Just another Monday.

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

"Everything is in order." He stated as Vlad walked forward, checking the different rooms himself with a large smile. Reaching out a hand, he slowly placed it onto one of the bars, yanking it backwards as he received a painful shock, continuing to smile nonetheless. "Excellent. Wonderful work." He called over his shoulder as he walked down the hallway into an open room, a large table in the middle of it, where the others resided.

"Plasmius, there you are. I was wondering when you would show yourself again." She sniped. "Are we almost ready to go?" She asked.

"Yes. I grow weary of waiting." Another voice growled from his seat.

"We should just destroy him now." One other snarled.

Vlad narrowed his eyes. "Yes. And how well has that worked out for you in the past? FOr any of you?!" He challenged, the others going quiet. "No. No we won't attack him now. We sit. We wait." He said.

"We have been sitting and waiting for months! How long do you expect us to wait?!" A voice shouted out.

"As long as we need to!" Vlad snarled, his eyes glowing red. "Everything is nearly complete, so until it is, we'll will not engage!" He shouted to the others sitting around the table. They narrowed their eyes and said nothing. Normally they would never take that from anyone, especially a crackpot like Plasmius. But they stayed silent, fearful of what the one standing next to him might do to them, for he was not a force to be reckoned with.

Vlad sighed and straightened his coat. "Now I realize you all are getting anxious, but it is nearly upon us. We must be patient. We cannot afford to be sloppy like before when you all tried to take him on alone. He has grown stronger and has obtained new allies. But so have we!" He stressed, as he circled around the table, stopping behind to of the others' chairs, placing his hands on their shoulders. "We will strip everything from him. His friends, his family, his humanity." The others around the table began to grin wickedly as Vlad continued.

"Soon we will have revenge. Soon we will have power. soon we will be victorious!" He shouted , the others cheering at that.

"And nobody will stand in our way!"

* * *

 **Hey guys! I have a challenge for you!**

 **I'm... _considering_ creating a third istallment to this series and I would like to hear what you guys think. So in the comments, write whether you think i should write another story after this, and what it should be about!**

 **I'd love to hear what you guys think!**

 **-rayrox360**


	9. Chapter 9: Waiting for Disaster

**Chapter 9: Waiting for Disaster**

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **Three weeks later**

 **6:24 a.m.**

Danny yawned as he exited his room, rubbing his eyes, trying and failing to get the sleepiness out of his system. The last few weeks had been brutal for the Titans, especially Robin and Danny considering all the attacks were directed right at them. The ghosts had been trying harder than ever to capture the two teens, so battling them every day was starting to take a tole on the others, especially since they still had to handle the regular villains that would try and take advantage of the Titans' trouble.

Entering the Ops Center, Danny said nothing as he shuffled over and collapsed on the sofa. "Trouble sleeping?" Robin asked as he walked over.

"Can't have trouble when you don't sleep." Danny mumbled as he sat up.

Robin chuckled slightly and passed the boy a cup of coffee, done in his favorite way. Two cups of cream with three scoops of sugar. Danny's eyes widened as he grabbed the cup. "Oh, you're my hero!" He gaped as he took a sip of the warm liquid. "Yeah, I get that a lot." Robin chuckled as he grabbed his own cup of straight black coffee.

Walking over to the large window, the two boys took a seat as they looked over the calm blue waters below them and the glistening city just beyond that. Danny let out a small chuckle as he closed his eyes. Robin tilted his head slightly. "What?" He asked, Danny turning to look at him.

"Nothing. It's just...if you take a deep breath and close your eyes, everything almost seems...normal." He sighed peacefully, is face quickly changing to exhaustion. "Then you open your eyes again and your're thrown right back into this crap-fest." He groaned.

Robin shrugged his shoulders. "Its not _that_ bad." He tried to convince, not just the boy, but himself as well.

Danny smirked. "Yeah...at least it has coffee."

Robin laughed at that, Danny doing the same besides him as the sun rose higher into the air.

* * *

 **12:38 p.m.**

Cyborg and Beastboy sat on the floor as they tried to beat the other at the game, moving along with the controller as their cars raced. Starfire giggled as she watched them, lazily floating in the air around them. Raven sat one side of the couch, silently reading her book, glancing up from time to time to glare at the others whenever they would make to much noise.

And the boys...well Robin sat by one of the computers, continuing to search for any new information on the Order that he could find. And Danny...well he was catching up on some needed sleep on the couch, his head resting on one of the armrest as one arm lay limp over the side of the couch while the other lay across his chest. An occasional snore would escape his lips before going quiet once more.

"BOOYAH!" Cyborg shouted as he destroyed Beastboy's car, shaking his head as a laugh came out of his mouth, Beastboy crossing his arms as he pouted. "SHH!" Starfire whispered as she motioned her head towards Danny.

The boys paused and quieted down, lifting their heads once more as Robin sighed. "It's like these guys don't even exist!" He muttered as he stood up and rubbed his eyes, the exhaustion getting to him as well. "Umm...maybe you should take a break, Robin." Raven said as she closed her book.

"Yeah man. You and Danny both need a break." Cyborg stressed, getting up to place a hand on the boy's shoulder. Beastboy chuckled. "At least Danny's got the right idea." He said, pointing a thumb at the boy's sleeping figure.

"I don't know." Robin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, stopping as Starfire flew over. "Please, Robin. You must also rest."

The boy turned away in thought, pausing as he was the looks of concern from the others, then sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine. I'll try and get some rest." He muttered.

"And not just another five minute nap like last time!" Cyborg shouted, Robin throwing a half-hearted glare at the robot as he walked towards Danny, grabbing the boy's wrist and dragging him off of the couch, all the while, the boy staying deep asleep, another snore escaping. "Fine!" Robin shouted as he dragged the boy out of the room behind him.

Dropping Danny off in his own room, Robin made his way towards his own, sliding the door open and walking in. Flicking on the lights, the large room was illuminated. As usual, papers and files were scattered everywhere, covering the desk, the floor and the mostly unused bed. He sighed as he brushed the papers off of the bed and sat down, lying back on the pillow, placing one arm under his head and another on his stomach.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to let his mind relax. Releasing everything that had happened the last few weeks and sleep.

NOPE!

He growled and sat back up, knowing full well his mind wouldn't let him sleep. It never did. He sighed in frustration as he moved to the edge of the bed, placing his head in his hands.

" _Couldn't sleep, huh_?"

Lifting his head, Robin watched as Danny entered the room. "Thought you were asleep?" He sighed as Danny took a seat on the bed next to him.

"Thought you were gonna relax." Danny countered.

Robin sighed as he laid back on the bed. "That might be a problem." He chuckled, Danny doing the same beside him.

"You know, I don't think I'll even be _able_ to relax until we get Vlad behind bars." Danny sighed as he closed his eyes and laid back on the bed as well. Robin lowered his gaze. "We _will_ catch him, Danny. I made you a promise we would." Robin reassured the boy.

Danny gave a weak smile. "I know you did. I trust you, Rob." He sighed. "I just can't help but worry."

Robin nodded. "I understand, D. But we haven't seen anything from him in _months_. Maybe..."

"Maybe he's gone?" Danny finished. "As much as I would _love_ to believe that, I know it's not true." Danny confessed. Robin nodded in understanding. "I get it. But if he ever does show up, we'll be ready." Robin confirmed.

Danny nodded. "Okay." He sighed, a yawn escaping his lips as his eyes drooped.

Robin rolled his eyes as sleepiness began to eat at him as well. "You know you have your own bed." He mumbled.

"Can't hear you. Sleepin'" He mumbled before he finally began to snore softly.

Robin chuckled lightly before falling asleep himself.

* * *

 **Masters Mansion**

Vlad walked down the large hallway, a smirk adorning his face.

"Why do you show such joy upon your face?" The man asked besides him.

Vlad chuckled. "I believe joy is the correct response when plans come together well." He smirked as he approached a bust of his head and pressed the button on the back of the statue. The large door of an elevator was revealed and he stepped inside. "Coming?" He asked.

The man hesitated, then stepped inside as well, the elevator shooting down.

Once it finally stopped, Vlad stepped out, the man floating after him as they entered the secret lab. "Plasmius, the others are beginning to get antsy once more. If you are planning something, I suggest you set it into motion." The man stressed as he watched Vlad mill around the room.

"Do not fret, my good man." he said as he pressed a certain few buttons on a control panel, a large screen lowering from the ceiling.

The man narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he watched Vlad type in a series of buttons into the control panel once more. "you had better know what you are doing, Plasmius." The man growled as he phased up through the floor, leaving the man alone in the room. Vlad smirked as he finished plugging the last of the information into the panel.

"I do believe it is time to send our favorite ghost boy a message."

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **2:45 p.m.**

" _Yo' Robin! We need you in the Ops Center NOW!"_

Jolting awake, Robin quickly sat up, blinking the last of sleep out of his eyes. Glancing around the room, he watched as the intercom button slowly dimmed down once more. Narrowing his eyes, he kicked Danny in the side, sending the boy tumbling to the ground with a yelp of surprise.

"Come on! We gotta go!" He shouted, ignoring Danny's indignant glare as he grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the room.

"Robin! What's the big idea?!" He shouted as the Boy Wonder dragged him down the hallway, ripping his arm out of the boy's grasp as he began to run himself. Entering the Ops Center, the two boys gasped at what they saw.

" _Hello little Badger. So nice to see you again._ "

Danny felt his heartbeat quicken as he saw the man on the screen grinning at him. The other Titans were standing around the room, shock and anger clearly evident on their faces as they glared at the man.

"Plasmius." Danny snarled as he glared daggers at the man on the screen. "What do you want?" He growled, Robin clenching his fists beside him. Taking in the first sight of the man in months, Danny realized how he had changed. The skin on the right side of his face seemed to be in the process of healing, an old burn visible. Just above that, his usual turquoise eye was slightly glassy, a large healing burn mark running across it, evidence from their last fight together.

Vlad chuckled. "What? I can't say hello to my favorite nephew?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Danny snarled. "I'm not your nephew. I'm not even your blood!"

Vlad narrowed his eyes. "Yes how could I forget. You took away any chance of me ever becoming family to you. _You_ took away any chance of me ever being with Maddie!" He growled through the screen.

Danny clenched his fists. "You did that yourself when you did all those horrible things! I didn't take her from you. You kept her from yourself!"

Vlad growled, then cleared his throat, his eyes adjusting back into their normal state. "I only called to see how you were doing, Daniel. I've heard some rumors about you being a target to the ghosts in the zone." He smirked, a knowing look evident in his eyes.

Danny clenched his fists. "I know you're involved somehow, Vlad! It has your name written all over it!" He growled.

Vlad grinned. "Perceptive, aren't you."

"So...what exactly _is_ the Order of Apparitions?" Danny asked.

Letting out a small chuckle, Vlad nodded his head. "Well...it seems you've made a few enemies in your lifetime, haven't you?" He asked. Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and one big fruitloop."

Vlad growled but continued anyway. "Nonetheless...it seems that a few of them are tired of being beaten by a fourteen year old boy who barely has any knowledge of what he's doing. So they decided to do something about it." He explained.

Beastboy rolled his eyes. "Uh, dude? Hate to break it to you, but last time we faced against you, we kind of beat you up all the way to the Ghost Zone." He smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Vlad raised a brow. "If I remember, you all won out of shear luck. Besides, if you're comparing the fight with me to the Order, then you are sadly mistaken."

"Think of some of the toughest ghosts you've fought, Daniel. Now think of them stronger than ever, working hand in hand to bring you and your little friends to their knees!" Vlad sneered, relishing in the fearful flicker in Danny's serious expression, a look mirrored throughout the living room.

Vlad leaned in as his eyes began to glow a deadly crimson red as he continued. "But know this, Daniel. This group will not rest until you've paid for everything you've done. They will continue to make your life a living nightmare until there is nothing left of you but a withered husk of the boy you used to be."

Danny felt his heart begin to pump and beat against his chest as if it wanted to leap out of his body. Vlad grinned even more at the reaction on the boy's face.

Starfire narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, flying up to the screen as she got into the man's face. "You will do no such thing! I refuse to let you cause harm to Friends Danny or Robin!" She growled, her eyes glowing an electric green.

Vlad laughed. "Please. As if any of you could protect them. NO! You can't! Not from what's coming." A large smirk appeared on the man's face. "They will stop at nothing to have revenge. _I_ will stop at nothing to have revenge, whether that means ripping you from this freakshow you call a family and making you watch as the Order rips them apart piece by piece, then moving on to you and your little friend.

Vlad curled his lip as he gazed at the boy with hatred and contempt. "So if I were you, I'd watch my back, Daniel. Cause I know more than a few ghosts who would love to see nothing more than you withering away in chains in the deepest, darkest dungeon imaginable!" A grin spread onto his face. "Oh, and I'd keep a close eye on that friend of yours. Don't get me wrong, you're the real prize. Just think of him as...insurance."

And with that, the screen flickered off, leaving the Titans alone to try and process what had just occurred.

* * *

 **Masters Mansion**

Flicking the screen off, Vlad narrowed his eyes as the man appeared once more, purple flames atop his head illuminating the room in a violet hue as well as the glistening black armor he wore. "Well?" He asked as he watched Vlad walk back towards the elevator.

The millionaire turned back to face him. "Assemble the others. It's time to make our move." He instructed.

The man narrowed his eyes as he nodded his eyes. "It's about time." He growled as he turned intangible and flew out through the top of the room, intent on tracking down the other ghosts once more.

Vlad smirked. "Prepare yourself, Daniel. Cause we're done waiting."

* * *

 **Well? Can you figure out who Vlad's accomplice is? Hopefully... I made it kind of obvious. Anyway, the next chapter will be much more interesting, I swear. We'll finally see the Order make its first move.**

 **All in all, not my most impressive chapter, but I wanted to finish it up before the end of the schook week so I could work on the more exciting chapter over the weekend.**

 **Another challenge! Who do you think the Order of Apparitions is composed of. I'll give you guys a hint. There are 7 if you include Vlad, 6 if you don't. They're all ghosts seen in the show before, excluding Pariah Dark and Dan (although that was kind of obvious)**

 **Anyway, next chapter should be up soon. Stick around to find out what happens next in The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions**


	10. Chapter 10: Sandstorms and Brambles

**Chapter 10: Sandstorms and Brambles**

 **Titans Tower**

Danny continued to stare at the blank screen, trying to wrap his head around the information that had crashed down on top of him. He barely even noticed the Titans around him as they tried to figure out what had happened as well.

"Dude! I thought we got rid of that creep!" Beastboy shouted as he waved his arms in the air.

"Obviously not. And if he's that determined, I don't think he's going to stop anytime soon." Cyborg sighed as he tried to see if the video had left a signal for him to trace, though he wasn't very surprised when his search came up empty.

"Well if we're going to get anywhere, we have to start figuring out who these allies of his are." Raven explained. "If we can figure out who they are, we'll at least be able to figure out how to take them on."

"Should not our first priority be to secure our friends?" Starfire asked. "That is what the Apparitions are after, correct?"

"No, we should try and figure out where their main base is." Cyborg argued.

"Doesn't that Vlad guy have a mansion or something? Wouldn't he be there?" Beastboy asked.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but I'm extremely doubtful that his house is their main base. Besides, even if we did storm his mansion, who's to say they wouldn't just flee to their main location. Meaning we have to find that base first!" He exclaimed.

As the others argued over what their first course of action should be, Robin turned back to see that Danny still hadn't moved from his spot. His gaze was down to the floor as his eyes would continuously dart from side to side, quietly mumbling something under his breath as his hands moved over the scars on his wrist.

"Danny." Robin sighed, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and another to his hands, gently guiding them away from his wrists. Danny blinked a few times before turning back to face him. A small chuckle escaped as he shook his head. "Guess my gut was right." He muttered with a small nervous smile.

"What do you want to do now?" The Boy Wonder asked.

Danny furrowed his brow as his mind mulled over the information Vlad had shared.

"I need to visit a friend."

* * *

 **3:15 p.m.**

"Are you sure about this?" Robin asked as he watched Danny type a series of commands into the portal's main system. "I mean, we still have no clue who's in the Order, and-"

"Trust me, he's not in the Order." Danny reassured as the portal opened up.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and extended a hand towards Robin, confusing the Boy Wonder. "I'm coming too?" He asked.

Danny nodded. "Of course. There's no way I'm leaving you with the Order breathing down our necks."

Robin narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much." He growled in annoyance.

Danny sighed. "I know, jerk. Just humor me, would ya?"

Robin rolled his eyes as he walked forward and Danny grabbed onto his wrists, lifting him up into the air as they faced the portal once more. Taking a deep breath, they dived through, the clean metal lab disappearing behind them as they were enveloped in inky green.

As the surroundings of the Ghost Zone appeared around them, the two teens noticed that many of the ghosts flying around would stop and stare at them as they flew by. The two shared uneasy glances as they watched the ghosts gaze at them.

"Okay...so maybe coming here while we're the most wanted humans in their world wasn't the best idea." Danny chuckled nervously as he sped up.

"It's not like we had much of a choice." Robin growled as he readied his weapons just in case they would have to leave the world by force. Thankfully, they arrived at the icy caverns before any of the ghosts stirred up the courage to face the teens. Diving down into the caverns, the two boys glanced from side to side as they tried to find a certain snow monster.

Danny could feel goosebumps forming in Robin's skin as they flew. He smirked slightly. "Cold?" He asked, Robin elbowing him in the side. "You kidding? I can't even feel it." He grinned, which would have been more convincing if his teeth hadn't begun to chatter afterwards.

Danny rolled his eyes and released some of his ghostly energy, his aura glowing brighter as he did so, some of the energy wrapping around Robin, spreading Danny's resistance to the cold to the Boy Wonder. Robin let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, D."

Before the ghost boy could respond, they heard a deep guttural growl coming from around them, quickly turning around, they came face to face with a group of snow monsters, each holding weapons which they pointed straight at the teens.

They snarled as they faced the teens, studying them for a moment before realization hit them and they immediately lowered their weapons. "Great One! Our apologies but-" One of the creatures started, only for Danny to cut him off. "It's fine. But I really need to talk to Frostbite."

The head monster nodded. "Of course. Follow us back to the village." He instructed as the other creatures fell in behind them as the group traveled through the snow towards the ice village.

Arriving at the entrance to the village, the group quickly made their way towards the heart of the village. Entering the large cavern in the center of the village, the head monster led the two teens into the icy room where they could see Frostbite hovered over many papers, glancing from one to another as he studied them intently.

"Sir.." The yeti called, pulling Frostbites attention from the work in front of him and towards the two teens that stood in the doorway. "Great One?" He gasped as he quickly walked forward, the yeti that had escorted them in quickly backing away, leaving them to their business.

"What is the matter?" Frostbite asked as he motioned for the two boys to take a seat at a large table towards the back of the room. "You should not be in the Ghost Zone at this time. It is dangerous for you, and you as well." He said, motioning to Robin too,

"Alright, then I guess you already know why we're here." Danny sighed. "Well if you know about that, then you probably know about the Order of Apparitions."

Frostbite closed his eyes and shook his head. "I wish I could tell you something good, but what I know isn't good." He confessed. "They are starting to be known throughout the whole Zone. And although I do not know exactly who is a part of the Order, many have seen The Fright Knight riding around the Ghost Zone, which is unusual because he is rarely ever seen around." Frostbite explained.

"So you don't really know who's in the Order?" Robin asked.

Frostbite shook his head. "Sadly no. Every once in a while, a few ghosts will slip up and leak out more than they wish to share, which is the only reason I know what I know. But all I do know is that every ghost want to become a part of the Order. They know that if the Fright Knight is a part of it as well as some of the stronger ghosts that he is sure to recruit, then becoming a part of this group is a necessity for them." He explained.

"They are also doing what they can to keep other neutral ghosts out of the knowing." He explained. "Pandora, Dora and myself are only a few on their list that they wish to avoid, knowing our allegiance to you." He said, which brought him to another topic that had been bugging him.

"What I do not understand is why they all seem to be focused on you two." Frostbite asked.

Danny sighed and placed a hand to his head. "All I know is that Vlad is involved in the center of this Order business."

Frostbite narrowed his eyes as a growl sounded from deep in the back of his throat. "Plasmius. That vile man..."

Danny nodded. "I know. Well we didn't exactly leave off on good terms, so it fits that he's going to use this order of his to get back at me." He said as he shook his head.

Frostbite sighed and placed a hand to his head. "I am sorry, Great One. There is not anything I am able to do to stop this group. I implore you to be careful. You and your friend."

Danny nodded. "Thanks, Frostbite." Turning back to Robin, he sighed. "Guess we should get back to the tower and see if the others had any 'surprising' ghost attacks." He said, quoting the word surprising. Getting a ghost attack every day kind of took the surprise out of the phrase entirely.

"Wait." Frostbite said as the two boys began to walk towards the entrance. "I am shocked you two were able to get here without any complications, but I am almost positive your trip back will not be as fortunate. Please, let me escort you home."

Danny shook his head. "Frostbite, you don't have to do that. Really, we'll be fine." He said, hoping to convince the Yeti, only to receive a hearty laugh. "Nonsense. I insist." He said as he led the two boys down a side hallway, placing his ice-encased arm into a large imprint embedded into a large crystal door, the ice beginning to glow a chilly blue as the grooves lit up. Slowly, the door creaked open, revealing a room filled with ancient artifacts, royal treasures, and a glowing chest which floated in the middle of the room.

Robin's eyes widened as he stared around the room at the different maps, relics and treasures that seemed to be centuries old. Danny smirked as he watched Robin gaze at the room, remembering he had never seen it before.

Frostbite walked over to the large chest and pulled out a large green map, different depictions of doors flying up into the air above the paper, illuminating the area in an eerie green glow. Frostbite bent down on one knee and gave a small nod. Danny and Robin walked over and hopped onto the large Yeti's shoulders, the ghost standing up once more.

Glancing over his shoulder, he glanced at Danny. "Oh, right. Umm...take us home." Danny instructed the map.

Not even a moment later, the three of them were engulfed in a glowing green light as they shot forward, the map dragging them forward at alarming speed that they could never reach on their own. The world around them blurred as they flew through the zone, tightly gripping Frostbite's soft white fur as they tried to make sure they didn't fly off.

Finally, after a few moments, the map came to a stop as they faced a large swirling green portal. The two boys disembarked the Yeti and floated in front of him. "I wish there was more I could do, Great One. But without more information on the Order, I'm afraid I'm as lost as you are." Frostbite confessed.

Danny sighed and nodded. "It's alright. I guess we're in the same boat." He gave a small smile. "Thank you, Frostbite."

The Yeti nodded. "If you are in need of assistance, the Far Frozen will always fight behind you, all of you." He said, glancing at Robin, who gripped Danny's grip to keep afloat. Danny nodded and gave the Yeti and quick hug before the two boys moved towards the portal.

As Robin jumped through, Danny glanced back and watched as Frostbite turned and flew back into the depths of the zone. Letting out a small sigh, the ghost boy flew through the swirling green mass, leaving the inky blackness of the zone far behind him.

The bright white lights of the lab shone in Danny's eyes as he he flew through the portal, landing on the floor next to Robin. "You good?" The Boy Wonder asked as he watched the boy walk over to the control panel and shut the main portal doors. Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess. But know that everything starting to build up, we'll have to be even more vigilant."

Robin nodded. "Well first we should find out which ghosts might be a part of the group. Vlad and Frostbite both said that only the more powerful ghosts were in the Order." Danny furrowed his brow as he nodded his head. "Well most of the stronger ghosts I've fought don't really seem to be team players, but I wasn't really their favorite entity so it doesn't seem too farfetched for them to do whatever they can to get back at me." He groaned as he rubbed his arm.

Robin nodded. "Well if we can narrow the list of ghostly enemies you've fought to the ones that would be willing and strong enough to join the Order, then we might finally be getting somewhere." Robin explained.

Danny nodded his head, the two boys beginning to make their way to the boy;s room when a flashing red light filled the hallway and a blaring siren sounded around the walls. Glancing at each other for a moment, the two ran into the Ops Center, where the others were already grouping.

"What is it?" Robin asked as he watched Cyborg pull up a map of the city.

"Something's in the park." The robot said with a grim expression.

Beastboy groaned and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as well. "I swear, if it's another crack-pot ghost looking for world domination, I'm gonna be so angry!" He growled right before Cyborg grabbed his arm and yanked him out the door, the others already far ahead of them.

* * *

 **Jump City Golden View Park**

 **4: 03 p.m.**

Civilians screamed as they ran for their lives, gripping their children tightly as they fled the park, sand and dust creating a storm of debris, the Titans shielding their eyes as they arrived. "Dudes! Did we teleport to the desert or something?" Beastboy asked another particle of sand got into his eyes.

Robin glanced over at Danny. "Do you have any idea what ghost could be doing this?"

"If it even is one." Raven mentioned as her cloak billowed around her.

Danny scanned the area, watching the sand and dust flying around him, the scene reminding him of a certain ghost fight months ago. He gasped in realization as the name struck him, turning to the others. But before he could say anything, the dust began to settle slightly as a shadowed figure began to walk forward, different bindings and wrapping billowing out behind him as he walked.

The Titans gasped as he came into full view. A man with head to toe bindings stood before him, his entire body covered apart from a scarred face, glowing green eyes accompanying it. Red and black additions to the wrapping ran up and down his body as well as a red loincloth overtop a black cover stretched down from his waist.

"Hotep-Ra." Danny growled as he narrowed his eyes and charged his fists, the others readying themselves behind him.

The mummy narrowed his eyes. "Child, it have been quite a while since we last met." He sneered, the dust around him settling as he walked forward.

"What are you doing here, anyway. Nope! Let me guess! You've come to settle things and take me and Robin prisoner, blah, blah, blah, acceptance into the Order of Apparitions, blah, blah..Well let me tell you, buddy. You aren't the first ghost to try this, and you probably won't be the last, so can we get this over with, please." Danny groaned as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

Ra grinned. "Still as sharp-witted as ever, huh child. Think you have everything figured out, don't you. Well I am sorry to say that you do not understand everything just yet. Acceptance into the Order is not one of the things on my mind at the moment."

The Titans glanced at each other in confusion, turning back as the ghost continued.

"No, I did not come for acceptance. For I do not need it." He growled at Danny, the boy trying his best to hide his surprise when the ghost pulled out a long golden scepter with a blue crystal in the center. "The Scarab Scepter? How did you get it?" He asked, his eyes going wide.

Ra smirked. "You have your allies. I have mine." He growled as the crystal in the center of the staff began to shine.

"But you were right about one thing, child. I've come to settle things." He snarled as his eyes began to glow menacingly, the dust and dirt from the ground beginning to whip and swirl back and forth once more. Robin placed a hand to his head to try and block the winds as he turned to his team. "Titans, GO!" He shouted, leaping forward.

Ra growled and slammed the staff into the ground, large tremors erupting from below the Titans' feet, knocking them off balance. The ghost flew into the air, Danny flying after him as the two exchanged blasts. Cyborg raised his arm and fired his own attacks towards the ghost as he flew past, knocking the scepter out of his hands.

"I got it!" Beastboy yelled as he transformed into a monkey and snatched the staff out of the air with his tail, letting out a shriek of pain, dropping it to the ground as he reverted back into human form. "Dude! That thing's hot!" he whimpered as he rubbed his but, letting out a gasp as Ra landed in front of him, swatting him away with the flick of his hand.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven growled as her magic grabbed onto the long black tendrils that hung from Ra's back and wrapped themselves around him, constricting his body as he fell to the ground. She let out a shout of pain as Ra violently blasted out of the confines, the force shooting Raven's magic back into her painfully.

Robin narrowed his eyes and reached into his belt, yanking out a pair explosives, throwing them at Ra's chest, the devices exploding on impact. Before the smoke could clear, a long unraveling hand shot forward and grabbed onto Robin's waist, lifting him into the air as it constricted tightly. The boy groaned in pain as he grit his teeth and tried to pry the hand off of him.

Starfire gasped and flew forward, firing a blast from her eyes, the wrapping that made up the hand catching flame as they crumpled, dropping Robin abruptly, Starfire latching onto his arm as the two made their way to the ground.

Ra snarled and reformed his hand, shooting the staff forward, a large blue blast hitting the ground right below Robin and Starfire's feet, blasting the two backwards into the nearby bushes. He grinned and turned back to the remaining Titans, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the area, his eyes falling on several animal caution signs around the path.

"Let's keep you all busy, shall we?" He grinned as he raise the scepter, a bright blue blast shooting forward, hitting the multiple signs, illuminating them in the same eerie glow. The Titans gasped as a loud creaking sound began to fill the air as the signs began to bend and shift. Suddenly, a large shape began to separate from the metal of the sign as a large bear silhouette stepped out of the frame, nothing but sharp outlines and black color, its bare (hehe, puns) face opening to reveal long sharp black teeth.

He was accompanied by gators, birds, and a large 15ft. snake that seemed to continue forever as it slithered out of the sign.

The Titans stared with wide eyes and slacked jaws as they stared at the animals, all of them pure black in color with no details, exactly as they had looked on their signs, only in three dimensions.

"Guys, I would think this is so cool if they didn't want to eat me." Beastboy sighed as he transformed into a gorilla and slammed his fists into the ground. "Yeah man. this guy's a lot different from the other ghosts we've seen lately." Cyborg said.

"He actually poses a threat." Raven growled as her hands began to glow.

The ghost smirked, the victory short-lived as Danny flew forward and rammed into the ghost's back, sending the two tumbling across the grass. They both grabbed the scepter as they pushed against the other, each trying to overpower the other. Danny felt himself begin to grow fearful as he realized he was beginning to get overpowered.

"Give up, child. Things are much different now than they were before." Ra snarled with a wicked smile. Danny gave a small smirk. "Yep. They definitely are." He shouted as he jumped away right as electricity coursed through Ra's body as Robin stabbed his staff into the ghost's shoulder. "Now I have backup!" The ghost boy smirked as he jumped over to Robin.

Starfire glanced over to her side and watched as Robin and Danny took on the mummy ghost, ducking under a claw as the bear swiped a paw at her. Gritting her teeth, she powered up her fists and fired a large green blast at the bear's shoulder, the impact leaning a shattered effect on the bear's arm, almost as if she had merely blasted away at a metal sign.

Beastboy snarled as his large ape hands grabbed onto the snake and squeezed it tightly, the serpent letting out a hiss of fury as it winded around and clamped down on the gorilla's leg. Suddenly, it was enveloped in black magic as Raven lifted it up into the air and sent it smashing down into the ground.

Cyborg raised his arm as he fired a barrage of blue blasts at the birds as they swooped down, the force of the impacts causing the animals to shatter back into black shards of metal. He smirked in victory, only to have sharp teeth dug into the circuits on his leg. "Yo!" He growled as the gator hissed at him. Rearing back, he slammed his fists down onto the creature's head, the animal retracting and stumbling backwards as it glared back at the metal teen.

Ra snarled as he watched the animals begin to be overpowered and grabbed his golden staff, a large blue shockwave blasting Robin and Danny back. Landing hard on the ground, Danny glanced to his side and saw the Titans begin to finish off the last animal. Turning back, he watched as Ra walked forward, glowing staff in hand as he glared down at the two boys, gripping the golden metal tightly.

But before he could do anymore, a bright flashing on the scepter's crystal caught his attention. He growled and grit his teeth as he watched the crystal continue to flicker until finally resting once more, almost as if it were a signal. Glaring back down at the boys, he watched as the other Titans ran over.

"I wish I could stay to finish the job, but I'm afraid I've done all I must here." He explained as he walked backwards, his gaze still focused on Danny. "But be wary, child. This is only beginning!" He laughed as a bright blue light enveloped him. As the light dimmed, the only clue to signify he had been there in the first place was the bruises on the Titans, the bent and broken signs, and the slight scorch mark on the ground where he had once stood.

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **6:47 p.m.**

Danny furrowed his brow as he paced back and forth in the living room, the others watching from the couch. After the fight with Hotep-Ra, the Titans were now more confused than ever. Every single ghost they had gone up against over the past month wanted one thing and one thing only. Acceptance into the Order of Apparitions. And the only way to do that is capturing Danny and Robin.

So why did Ra seen uninterested in any of it? It made no sense!

Robin sighed and stood up from the couch. "Maybe we should go over things?" He suggested, ending Danny's pacing fest. The ghost boy glanced up at him and thought over it for a moment, nodding his head at the idea.

"Alright. So what do we know so far?" Robin asked as he turned to the other Titans.

"Well for one thing, we know that almost every ghost in the Ghost Zone is looking to fill up a spot in the Order." Cyborg explained.

"Correct. And the only way to do that is to gain control over Robin and Danny." Starfire continued.

"So how come this mummy guy didn't seem like that at all?" Beastboy asked.

Raven furrowed her brow as she lowered her hood and turned to the others. "What if he didn't care about acceptance because he's already been accepted?" She questioned the others turning to her in confusion. She sighed and continued. "Think about it. So far he's the only ghost that had no interest in showing off to the Order and also one of the only ghosts so far that's posed a really threat to us and something tells me he was merely toying." She explained.

"Well we figured out so far that the Order is mainly made up of the stronger ghosts in the Zone and I think he proved he's one of the tougher ones." She clarified.

Danny shook his head. "But the main reason for that is the staff. Without that, he's not too overpowering." He explained.

"But with it, he really packs a punch." Cyborg groaned as he rubbed his chin.

Robin walked forward. "This is better than we thought and better yet, Ra revealed more than he thought." He continued as the others glanced at him. "Now we have reference. Before we had no idea what the range of power and strength was held in the Order. But now he know that ghosts with a similar or even greater strength that Ra are in the generally scope of the Order." He explained, Danny's eyes widening as he understood.

"And as far as we know, some of the stronger ghosts in the Order consist of The Fright Knight and Vlad." He said as Robin nodded and continued. "So now we know that ghosts in between the Fright Knight and Hotep-Ra could be possible factors in the Order. Now we have a starting point." He said with a smile.

The Titans nodded in understanding, relieved that they were finally getting somewhere. Danny and Robin turned to the others as Robin began to give orders. "Beastboy, I want you to go over the information we already have and compare it to the new. If anything overlaps, bring it to our attention immediately. Raven, Starfire, I want you two to go through the books and see if you can bring up any more information on that scepter Ra had. And Cyborg, I want you to make sure the ghost weapons we have are still up to par, make sure they're ready for battle. Now that we're starting to get to the bottom of this, we'll need to be ready." He explained, the others nodding in understanding.

"What are you two gonna do?" Beastboy asked as the pair began to make their way towards the main doors. "We have to go through the list of ghosts I've compiled and pick out the ones that fall into the strength and power category we're looking for." Danny explained as he and Robin walked up to the living room doors, the metal sliding open, but the two gasped at what they saw.

Dark green vines with long black thorns stretched down the hallway, shooting forward as soon as the doors were open, wrapping themselves around the two boys and hoisting them up into the air, immobilizing them.

"Guys!" Cyborg shouted, the other Titans quickly trying to rush forward and help their friends when their path was blocked by even more plants, the long tendrils wrapping around their wrists and ankles. Large blue flowers clamped down on Raven and Starfire's hands. "I cannot use my starbolts!" The Tamaranian shouting. "Or my magic." Raven growled as she yanked against the grip of the plants.

Cyborg narrowed his eyes and tried to form his sonic cannon, only for the vines to become entangled in his circuits and no matter what animal Beastboy morphed into, they couldn't escape the vines' steady grip.

Robin and Danny struggled in the air against the vines that held them in the air, Robin trying and failing to reach his utility belt. Even Danny's powers were being blocked by the same large blue flowers. "Danny! What's going on?!" Robin shouted.

Before Danny could respond, large flowers sprouted from the vines that held onto the two boys, yellow spores escaping from the blooms. Danny's eyes widened as the spores floated around the two of them. "Sleep spores..." He whispered to himself. He gasped as realization dawned on him. "Guys! I know who's doing this! It's U-" But before he could finish his warning, more vines wrapped around him and Robin, circling around his mouth, successfully gagging the two.

They continued to struggle against their holds, but they both began to realize that their movements were quickly becoming slow and sluggish as the spores began to take effect. Danny gave one last fearful glance to Robin and the Titans before his vision became hazy and black as he slipped into unconsciousness, his body becoming limp against the vines' hold, Robin succumbing to the same toxins in the air.

The Titans gasped as a strong wind blew through the tower, dust and sand blocking their vision as it swirled around them, almost as if they had been transported right into the middle of a sandstorm in the desert. They may have been wrong, but they were almost certain they heard the rumbling of thunder coming from inside the tower.

And just as quickly as it had began, the winds and sand died down and slowly disappeared from the room, but they weren't the only things.

Danny and Robin were gone.


	11. Chapter 11: Panic

**Chapter 11: Panic**

 **Titans Tower**

Silence enveloped the room as the teens tried to comprehend everything that had happened in the short time.

Finally, their eyes began to blink once more as the shock began to die down and realization finally began to dawn on them. "Dudes..." Beastboy breathed as he placed a hand to his heads and turned to the others."What just happened?" He asked.

"Where are our friends?" Starfire questioned as she turned back to them, fear evident in her eyes as she gazed at them. "Why are they not still here with us?! Where have they gone?!" She asked.

Cyborg slowly shook his head. "They...they were just here..." He stuttered in shock as he shut his eyes and clenched his fists. "I should have done something. Why did I just stand there?!" He shouted at himself in anger.

Starfire narrowed her eyes. "We must go and find them! We should go out and begin the search now! Perhaps there is still time to find-"

"Star, don't." Raven said quietly. "They're gone and we have no idea who took them or where." She explained, trying to keep her emotions in check.

Starfire grit her teeth. "That is not good enough! I do not care! We will go search and we will do it now! There must be something we can do! They cannot be gone!" She pleaded to the others, fury blazing in her eyes at the idea of the Order hurting her friends. "We must bring them back. They deserve to be back with us!" Her fists shook in anger as she clenched them tighter, small tears sliding down her face, the fury never leaving her eyes.

Suddenly, the rage in her face died down as Cyborg placed a hand on her shoulder. "Star..." He stated quietly.

The girl shook as her fists unclenched and the tears began to slid down in large drops as she placed her head against Cyborg's shoulder, the robot letting out a sigh as he comforted her.

Beastboy glanced back to the others. "What are we gonna do, guys?" He asked.

Raven narrowed her eyes and floated over to the computers, quickly searching up anything she could about those spores that had appeared in the tower before. Cyborg turned to her. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Raven didn't even look up as she continued. "Trying to figure out exactly what happened." SHe said as she continued to work. Glancing up, she turned ot thte others. "Cyborg, see if you can pull up the security cameras from before we got here. Those vines had a chance to set themselves up exactly where Robin and Danny were headed. Someone was watching us. We just have to see if there's anything there that can help us." She explained.

Cyborg nodded and turned to the others. "Alright, ya'll. Someone took our friends. And I don't intend on letting them keep them. Beastboy, you come with me. I'll need another pair of eyes to go over the footage with me. Starfire, see if you can help Raven figure out anything we can about that Hotep-Ra ghost and see if there are any that have the type of power to conjure up that many plants."

"Danny was about to say something before those spores got to him. Something about the plants and who was controlling them. That might mean that ghost is in his files. We'll have to go through them." The robot continued.

"Alright. Let's get to work." He growled as he walked out of the room, heading for the security room.

Beastboy turned to Raven, wringing his hands nervously as he gazed at her. "We'll find them. They'll be okay...right?" He asked, fear evident in his eyes as he gazed back at the sorceress. The girl gazed at him and sighed. "I...

I don't know."

* * *

 **Amity Park**

 **Casper High**

 **7:45 a.m.**

Sam yawned as the class continued. Last night had been brutal. Three consecutive ghost attacks had led to only about two hours of sleep. Add to that one boring teacher and you have the recipe for a horrible day. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the sleepiness.

Placing a fist to her cheek, she propped her head up and lazily stared at the board Lancer was pointing at, trying her best to be an adequate student. As her mind quickly drifted away from the topic the man was droning about, she thought about the Fenton Portal.

Things would be so much easier if they could just lock the thing, or better yet, shut it down completely. No more ghosts, no more attacks, no more sleepless nights. But that would also mean no more Danny, or the Titans. That was their main way of reaching them. They couldn't shut it down, no matter what. Come to think of it, she hadn't heard from Danny or the Titans in a while.

The last time she had talked to them was the Skulker attack. Danny had been acting strange. Was he okay? Were the Titans okay? Did they need help? Of course they didn't need help, they would have called if they did. Danny would have called.

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to clear herself of the headache she had just momentarily acquired. Suddenly, a loud beeping filed the class, students jumping in shock t the loud noise. Glancing around the classroom, twenty pairs of eyes fell on Sam, confusion filling the girl's eyes until her mind registered where she had heard that beeping before.

Glancing down to her side, she reached down and picked up the flashing Titans communicator. Turning to Tucker and Valerie, the two teens gave her confused looks. Sam gave a nervous chuckle as she motioned to the communicator. "Umm...if you could excuse me for a minute?" She said as she quickly walked out of the classroom.

Valerie nudged Tucker's shoulder. "What do you think that's all about?" She asked.

Tucker shrugged. "The better question is why didn't they call me?" He pouted, crossing his arms angrily.

Valerie rolled her eyes, her head quickly jerking up at the sound of a loud " _What?!"_ coming from outside in the hallway.

Suddenly, Sam flung the door to the classroom open, her eyes frantic. "We have to go, now!" She shouted to the others. Tucker and Valerie quickly stood in surprise, nodding their heads nonetheless, knowing Sam would never cause such a scene unless it was serious. Lancer, however, knew no such thing.

"Now wait just a minute! Do you expect me to just let you children go off willy-nilly? No, I already do that whenever a host attacks, but I won't do it now. So I suggest you take your seats, children." He growled angrily.

Tucker and Valerie winced, expecting Sam to explode on the teacher, but the bomb never went off. Opening their eyes, they watched as the girl slowly walked over to the teacher, her eyes full of fear and sorrow. "Mr. Lancer please. This is serious. S..." She cleared her throat and continued. "Someone's taken Robin and Danny. They're gone."

Gasps filled the whole room, the loudest coming from Tucker and Valerie.

Lancer's eyes widened as his jaw dropped, watching as Sam continued. "Please. They aren't just friends. They're family. And right now, the other Titans need us. Danny and Robin need us."

Her eyes filled with desperation. "Please."

Lancer hesitated for a moment, before letting out a loud sigh. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he turned to the teens again. "Alright. But be careful. I don't want to have o stare at your empty seats for the rest of the school year." He sighed.

Sam nodded and ran out of the room, the others following.

* * *

"Gone? What do you mean gone?!" Jazz asked frantically as she gazed at the others as they ran down the hallway, having just plucked the girl from her class. "As in they're not there anymore. They were taken." Sam shouted back.

Jazz stopped abruptly as they reached the outside corridor, the others stopping as well. "Taken by who?" She growled back.

Sam ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm her nerves. "I don't know! None of them know. When Cyborg called, all he said was that they were gone and that they needed us to get to Jump right away. We have to go help them!" She shouted back.

"Do you think this has something to do with the Order thing that you said Skulker talked about before?" Tucker asked.

Sam nodded. "That has to be it. But we'll find out more when we get there. So I suggest we get moving!" She urged, the others nodding in understanding. Valerie clicked a few buttons on her bracelet, her hoverboard appearing from the bottoms of her shoes. "Get on." She said, helping the girls, extending a hand to Tucker, who shook his head.

"No thanks. Now might be the perfect time for me to finally try this thing out." He said with a smile as he tightened the straps on his backpack. "Tuck, what are you up to?" Sam asked as she watched the backpack begin to vibrate. "Just my latest invention." Tucker basted proudly as boosters appeared from the bottom of the bag, firing up quickly as they let out large bursts of air, propelling the boy into the air.

He let out a few yelps of shock as he would drop a few feet in the air every once in a while, clearing his throat after a particularly high-pitched yelp. "See?" He asked with a smirk, Valerie rolling her eyes as her board lifted higher into the air. "Oh i see something all right." She muttered as they took off, making their way towards Fenton Works.

After a while of flying, Tucker turned to the others. "What are we gonna tell your parents?" He asked as he flew besides them, Fenton Works now in view. Jazz narrowed her eyes as she kept her head down. "Nothing. We tell them nothing."

Both the board and the jetpack came to an abrupt stop in mid-air as all three teens turned to the girl. "What?!" Valerie shouted.

"Why the heck not?!" Sam asked as they began to float down towards the ground.

Jazz shook her head. "Do you know how much they'd flip out? They'd go crazy! So crazy that they'd probably jump headfirst into the first sign of danger that comes along. They'll be so frantic that they'll probably cause more harm than good." She explained.

Tucker sighed. "Alright, fine. Whatever. I just want to get to the Tower and figure out exactly what happened." He said as they entered the house.

Maddie glanced up from the kitchen, furrowing her brow as she saw the kids enter. "Kids? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" She asked as she finished drying her hands from washing the dishes. Tucker let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah about that, well you see-"

Jazz quickly placed a hand over the boy's mouth and continued for him. "The Titans called at school and said they could use our help with a little situation over there." She explained. Okay...not exactly a lie.

The sound of clattering metallic parts sounded from the couch as Jack sat up and turned to them. "Situation? Is it ghost related? Do they need our help?" He asked with an excited grin.

Sam laughed as the four teens began to make their way towards the basement. "No thanks, Mr. Fenton. The Titans said we'll probably be able to handle it." She explained. The man slumped his shoulders as he began to pout. "Alright, fine. But the second you kids find a ghost, you call us up." He said.

Jazz chuckled. "Will do." She said as they began to head down the stairs.

"Oh and Jazz!." Maddie called. "Tell Danny I said hi. He hasn't called in a while. I'm starting to get worried." She said as she walked back into the kitchen.

Jazz sighed. "So are we."

Making their way into the center of the lab, Tucker hopped into the front seat of the Specter Speeder and began to punch in the coordinates of the second portal, turning back to the others with a smirk. "We are good to go!" He grinned.

The girls rolled their eyes as they made their way towards the rocket, Tucker hitting the boosters as the machine shot forward into the portal.

Darkness enveloped them as they dove into the portal, ectoplasm drifting down from the air and up from the ground, different ghosts throwing glares in their direction as they flew on.

Valerie shivered in her seat. "Man, I forgot how much I hate this place." She growled to the others.

"I'd get used to it, Grey. We might have to search this whole place for Robin and Danny." Sam muttered. They stayed silent after that as they continued on. Finally, they noticed another octagonal shaped portal, quickly speeding towards it as it came into view. Diving in, they were greeted by blinding white lights. Exiting the rocket, they were shocked at what they saw.

Papers were scattered everywhere, ectoplasmic goo hung from the ceiling, dripped down from the walls and rested on the counter tops, and spare metallic parts lay strewn about. Tucker gasped as he took in the condition of the lab he had helped update. Gingerly picking up a few spare parts, he frantically turned to the others, who rolled their eyes at his cries. "Something terrible has happened here!"

"Yeah, it has." A low voice sighed, the teens quickly lifting their heads to meet the gaze of a tired Cyborg, the robot letting out a yawn as he walked forward. "Dude, are you okay?" Tucker asked as he placed a hand on the robot's shoulder.

"Define okay." Beastboy groaned as he walked in, tiredly rubbing his eyes. The others gazed at the two Titans worriedly as they walked closer. "Guys, have you heard anything yet?" Sam asked, worry seeping out of her eyes. Cyborg sighed and gestured to the door. "The others are in the Ops Center." He explained as the teens walked out of the room. Beastboy and the robot exchanged glances before following them out.

Entering the Ops Center, the teens could see that it was almost as wrecked as the lab. Papers were scattered all over the place, different files strewn about. Starfire sat on the floor, her back resting against the foot of the couch as she went over another file while Raven flipped through a large book, tossing it aside when she found nothing, reaching over to pull another one out of the pile of what seemed like hundreds.

Turning their heads, the girls watched as the five teens slowly entered the room, walking over to meet them. Starfire gave Jazz a subdued hug, a small smile adorning her face. "It is wonderful to see you again, my friends." She said softly, nothing like her usual self.

Sam placed a hand on Raven's shoulder. "You guys don't look like you've slept in a while." She said as she gazed around the room at their sluggish forms. "That's because we haven't" raven sighed as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

Sam narrowed her eyes as she gazed around the room, at the disorganized mess, obviously showing just how frantic the Titans had been throughout the night, at the worn faces of the teens, revealing sleep deprivation, fear and anger. And it made her clench her fists.

Tightly shutting her eyes, she turned back to the Titans, amethyst eyes shining at them. "Tell us everything."

* * *

 **Alright. Not the most interesting chapter, but you so get to see more of Casper High and Amity so that's good...I guess. But don't worry, the next chapter will hold much more drama and excitement.**

 **I also wanted to make this chapter shorter so I could get started right away on Chapter 12 because I feel that is where things will begin to get interesting and the members of the Order will finally start to be revealed to you. Slowly but surely. I'm sure some of you know who some of them are already. And in the comments, a few of you guessed almost all of them correct. I won't say who cause I like to keep you guys guessing.**

 **Sorry for the longer delays between chapters. I really wish i could roll out chapters quickly like I did with my first story. But I was in 8th grade then and my homework load wasn't nearly as heavy now in my freshman year, especially with the AP and Honors classes I have. So I formally apologize. But I do try and do my best when it comes to new chapters.**

 **Anyway, the next chapter should be out sometime this weekend, more or less depending if my teachers are lenient (P.S.-THEY AREN'T!)**

 **:(**


	12. Chapter 12: Apparitions

**Chapter 12: Apparitions**

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

 **Unknown Time**

 _Drip, drip, drip._

Continuous echoes. Continuous noise. Never stopping.

 _Drip, tick, tick, drip._

What is it? Like water, but almost like the hands of a clock, always moving, never stopping. Never stopping. Never...

 _Tick, tick, drip, tick._

Large drops, old clocks. One of the two. Which?

 _Drip, tick, drip, drip, drip, drip..._

Louder, more sure. Water. Drops. Louder, louder, continuous, forever, never stopping.

 _Drip, drip, drip, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP..._

Never stopping, always louder. Never stopping, always louder. Stopping, louder, stop. Stop. Stop!

* * *

Robin's eyes popped open a gasp escaping his lips as his mind began to focus. For a moment, all he saw was hazy darkness. Narrowing his eyes, his surroundings slowly began to come into focus. Slowly, softly, the edges of things became clearer, the colors more vibrant and the sounds sharper.

 _Drip_

He whipped his head around, noticing a small puddle forming in the corner of the room, a small crack in the ceiling releasing small drops of water every few seconds, the sound bouncing off of the dark room. Almost exactly like the sound of a ticking clock.

Robin narrowed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to piece together everything that he could remember before awakening in the strange room.

Titans Tower...

Vines...

Screams...

Spores...

DANNY!

His eyes widened as he remembered who had been entrapped along with him. Quickly jumping to his feet he tried to move away from the wall his back had currently been pressed against, only to feel a strong tug on his wrist. Glancing down to his side, he noticed a long black chain tightly cuffed around his right wrist, leading down to a link bolted down to a slab of steel on the floor.

He grit his teeth as he glanced at the strong metal. It seemed to be infused with something else. Looking close, the boy could make out thin glowing green lines etched into the metal.

Ecto-energy.

He narrowed his eyes. Whoever had created the metal had planned for ghosts to be chained to it. He reached down towards his belt only to pull back as his fingers only grazed the material of his uniform. Looking down, he noticed that his belt was gone, along with all of his weapons and tools, including the lock pick.

He growled, realizing the Order was smarter than the average criminal gangs he fought on a normal basis. Staring down at the lock once more, a small smirk appeared on his face. _They might have gotten my belt, but they didn't get everything._ He realized as he crouched down on the floor and dug into his steel-toed boots, reaching into a small hidden pocket attached to the side walls of the shoe, pulling out a small black pin.

As he pulled out the pin, he realized that the cuff was on his right hand, meaning he would have to work the pin with his left hand. He narrowed his eyes. _They've been watching us for a while._ He realized, knowing they would only have the information on his dominant hand if they had monitored him and the other Titans for a while.

Shaking his head of the thoughts he knew he would have to come back to later, he set to work on the lock. After a couple seconds, he began to realize that this was not your average lock, otherwise he would have had it off already, even faster if he was able to use his dominant hand. No. This lock was different. Almost as if the pins were backwards.

After a few frustrating minutes, a sudden click filled the room as the lock snapped, the chains opening and clattering to the floor. A satisfied smirk appeared on the boy's face, quickly disappearing as he finally allowed himself time to notice the room he remained trapped in.

It was dark. Different multi-colored bricks making up three of the four walls. The fourth, which looked out at the hallway was made entirely of a glass-like material, translucent, allowing the prisoner to stare out into the hallway. But upon further inspection, Robin noticed a faint blue glow surrounding the glass and a large control panel in the hallway next to the cell, probably the controls to the glass.

The rest of the cell didn't have the same modern feel as the glass. Cracks formed in the corners of the room, no light seeping in through them. Only small trickles of water and the occasional rat which would hurriedly scurry from one corner to another, quickly disappearing into another hole. If only it were that easy to escape.

Shattered bricks and broken cement sat on the floor against on of the brick walls, the air inside the cell musty and dirty, almost as if someone had shaken out a pillowcase full of dust into the room and let the dirt hang in the air.

Finally, in the center of the floor sat a rusty draining grate, just large enough for a grown man to slid into, small streams of water dripping into the drain, leaving only the echoing sounds of drops hitting more water the only key it had been there in the first place.

Narrowing his eyes, Robin walked forward and placed a hand to the glass material. At first touch, you could tell immediately it was not glass. It felt...strong. Like nothing would break it. Almost like transparent steel walls.

He growled and stepped away from the wall, pressing his back against the cold brick. Okay, first thing's first. He had to find Danny. Glancing around the cell, he realized that apart from a few decaying bricks scattered around, his confines were pretty well put together. To the untrained eye, it would almost seem that escape was impossible. Luckily for Robin, he had been trained by one of the most paranoid people in the world and had received training for this.

Scanning around the room, the only things he saw that might even have a remote chance of helping him were the control panel, the small crack in the bottom corner of the cell and the drainage grate attached to the floor of the confines. Well the control panel probably wouldn't be too much help considering it was out of his reach, and the cracks in the floor were way too small for him to fit through and he didn't have his explosives to make the crack bigger. Besides, as far as he could tell, no light could be seen through the crack, probably meaning it merely led into another cell.

SO that left option C, the draining grate. Grabbing the pin out of the cuff lock, he knelt down next to the grate and examined the metal. It was rusted and old, but no lock could be seen, only the decaying hinges off on one side, attaching it to the floor. Sliding hte pin back into his shoes, Robin adjusted his body position and grabbed onto the grate. After a few well-placed tugs, the grate popped open, the rusted hinges flying off, clattering onto the ground.

Placing the grate onto the floor, Robin peered down into the dark hole that now sat in the middle of his cell. He narrowed his eyes. _If they took the time to install a system that advanced, why would they leave something like a rusted grate unchecked?_ He asked himself, glancing back at the high-tech wall. The sound of footsteps walking down the hall shook him out of his thoughts.

Gently placing the grating back down onto the hole, he scooted back over to the chains, draping the cuffs down over his wrists as he turned and laid down on the floor, turning his back to the panel wall as he waited for the footsteps to disappear. As they walked, they seemed to stop right outside Robin's cell. A drop of sweat rolled down his temple as he waited for the guard to shout out that the grate had been moved and that it was a trick, but no such shout came as the footsteps continued down the hallway until eventually disappearing.

Letting out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding, Robin stood once more as he ripped the grate off once more and placed his hands on the outer edge of the hole. Taking a deep breath, he hoisted himself over and dropped down into the hole. His feet made a splash as they touched down into the ankle-deep water below that had gathered up in the pipes.

He rolled his eyes. Of course he's end up back in the sewage system. _Danny better not find out about this_ He muttered to himself as he began to trudge through the waters, running his hands along the sides of the pipes to make sure he kept on a straight path as he traveled underground. The sound of water drops hitting the water below filled the tunnels, the sound echoing off of the walls as he walked, keeping him in constant company.

Every once in awhile, he would pass grate after grate, each leading back up to the top level. Deciding that it would be easiest to travel down where nobody would find him, Robin continued through the tunnels, pausing and hiding in the shadows whenever someone would walk over the grates, making sure to stay out of sight and away from the spotlight of bars that shone down on the water from the above lights.

Once, he tried to peek above at the figure, trying to see if it was someone he recognized in one of Danny's files. All he could catch was the wisp of a purple cape and a shining gold pendant before having to leap back into the shadows as the figure glanced down, making sure to keep his escape a secret for as long as possible.

Finally, after a while, the tunnel ended, meaning he would have to double back and find the closest draining grate and crawl out to floor level once more. Waiting for a few moments to make sure nobody was coming, Robin reached up and pushed against the grate, the hinges creaking as the grate slowly opened up, the boy quickly crawling out.

Lowering the grate once more, Robin quickly moved towards one of the walls and pressed his back against it, making sure to try and stay out of sight as he tried to get a bearing of his surroundings. The complex seemed endless, almost as if the hallways never ended. Different cells, not unlike the ones Robin had been confined in lined the stone walls, the reinforced glass exterior in place along them as well. It was almost as if the whole place had been constructed by multiple minds, each giving their input as to what would work, the combination of technology and rural techniques showing across the dungeon.

Lights were strung above on the ceiling, illuminating the ground below, the shadows bouncing off the walls and floor whenever the lights would swing in the air. Robin narrowed his eyes as he began to move through the hallways, examining the cells as he passed.

None of them seemed to even be in use yet, meaning Danny and Robin were the first ones to test them. After a while, he came across a large staircase that seemed to lead to a second level. Temptation gnawed at Robin. He knew he would have to search that later, but for now, he had to see if Danny was anywhere on the first level.

Well...that _was_ the plan until he heard the sound of footsteps walking down the hall towards him, a large shadow forming on the wall as the figure moved closer. Whipping his head towards the staircase, he realized he had no choice as he raced up them, the footsteps now being drowned out by the loud voices he heard as he continued moving up the stairs.

Arriving at the top, he came across another hallway of cells on each side of the stairs, but straight across from it was a large doorway, a bright light seeping in from it. Realizing he should investigate, Robin slowly and cautiously moved closer, placing his hand on the edge of the doorway as he peeked inside, catching a good look of the room.

A large round table sat in the middle of the room, different lights strung on the walls around the circular room. Sat around the table were 5 ghosts. One that seemed to be a living storm, another made entirely of green vines, a pale skinned woman with pointed ginger hair, a bound Egyptian mummy and a crowned prince with a golden necklace.

Two seats remained empty, but that didn't stop the ghosts from arguing with each other.

"I say we destroy them now. We have them right where we want them!" The talking plant snarled to the others.

"You idiot. Have you heard nothing? Destroying them would be too simple!" The woman responded with a growl. "I want to make them suffer. And I'm sure you all want that as well. Merely killing them would be too easy. Especially for that bratty ghost boy!" She snarled through gritted teeth.

"I must agree with the witch." The crowned ghost sighed, earning a glare from the woman, which he ignored. "I want to make that boy pay for what he's done to me."

"But why take the chance that something might go awry? Why not deal with them now instead of giving them a chance to escape and ruin everything?" The mummy snarled at the others with narrowed eyes. The woman rolled her eyes. "Please. We've planned for every possible contingency. There's no way they'll win." She reassured them.

"Is that not what we all thought when we first went up against the boy?" The plant muttered.

The woman narrowed her eyes and quickly stood from her seat, the chair crashing to the ground at the sudden movement. "Look! I am tired of dealing with you ungrateful, egotistical shitheads! I don't care what you all do. I am going to make sure this boy gets everything that's coming to him. I want him to feel pain. I want to tear the flesh from his bones and burn the rest. I despise him. I loathe him. I HATE him!" She shrieked as her eyes began to glow a deadly green as her hands began to do the same.

"Yes my dear. That is why we're here. Why we're all here." A voice said as a tall man walked into the room, pale blue skin and black pointed hair making Robin's eyes widen instantly as his gaze fell upon him.

"Vlad." He whispered, which sounded more like a growl.

"We all want to make him suffer. We all want to make him pay. And we will. We just have to stick to the plan." He explained to the others. "And I wouldn't worry about him escaping. There's no way he'd be able to break out of that cell alone and even if he did, he'd have to get off of this level. And without his powers, that might be a bit of a challenge." Vlad reassured the others.

Robin narrowed his eyes, hearing the answers he needed, but also developing new questions in the process. _His powers? What happened to his powers ? Is he okay?_ He asked himself, realizing he had to get moving now.

Backing away from the doorway, he made his way back into the center of the hallway, glancing back and forth, left or right? He narrowed his eyes as they fell upon the large wires that hung from the ceiling, all of them leading around the corner. Power conduits. _Whatever's over there most be important if it's using up that much energy_ Robin detected as he began to move, following the wires as he did so.

As he continued to follow the conduits, he realized they led down another staircase, another pathway. He tilted his head in confusion. _They said he was on the same floor. So why are the conduits leading down?_ He wondered as he decided to follow them anyway. The stairwell became darker and darker the deeper he went.

Finally, the stairwell ended and he realized he was in another hallway. But the cells were...different. They were bigger. Much bigger. Narrowing his eyes, Robin warily walked along the cells until he came to the one the conduits led into. It was dark. Pitch black, nothing able to be seen through the glass.

He took a deep breath and glanced down at the control panel, which seemed to be much simpler than the one on his cell. _Okay. That makes no sense. If they see Danny as a bigger threat than me, why would they make his cell easy to open? And why would they make those power conduits so obviously out in the open? Almost as if they wanted me to see them?_ But he decided to push his worries aside as he heard a rustling from inside the cell.

Deciding to open the cell anyways, he pressed a few buttons into the controls and pushed the large red button, the glass door, sinking down into the floor, opening the cell. "Danny?" He called into the darkness. For a moment, nothing responded. "Danny? Are you there?" Robin called again. This time, a sound was the response. But it wasn't a human sound. It was a growl. A loud growl.

Something shifted in the cell as it began to sit upright, growing higher and higher into the air as it sat up. Finally, it slowly turned to glare at Robin, the boy gasping as the creature stepped out of the cell and let out an ear-piercing roar. The creature seemed to resemble that of a large 6-pawed bear, the animal glaring down at the boy as it lunged.


	13. Chapter 13: Friends and Foes

**Chapter 13: Friends and Foes**

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

 **Unknown Time**

Robin gasped as the creature lunged, leaping out of the way right as it slammed its large paws down on the spot he had once been standing, crushing the cement. Rolling across the floor, Robin readied himself once more as the bear turned towards him, glowing red eyes glaring right at him.

Letting out a roar, the bear charged him. Robin narrowed his eyes and leapt up into the air, landing on top of the bear's shoulders. Reaching down towards his waist, he let out a growl as he remembered he didn't have his belt, or any weapons. But before he could make another move, the bear twisted itself around and swung its paw around, hitting Robin in the side.

Tumbling across the ground, the Boy Wonder hit the back wall with a loud thud. Letting out a groan, he placed a hand to his head to try and stop the ringing in his ears. Suddenly a loud roar sounded across the way. Lifting his gaze, he saw the bear scratching the ground with its claws as it glared back at the boy, ghostly green fur torn and matted from ages in chains.

"I can't take this thing on without any weapons!" He muttered to himself as he quickly jumped to his feet, facing the bear once more. "Come on!" He called to it as he turned and began to run down the hallway. A loud roar from behind signified that the creature had decided to take him up on his offer as it followed behind.

Grabbing onto a large bar that sat by one of the walls, Robin grabbed onto it and swung himself around into the adjacent hallway, continuing to sprint down the long corridor. Leaping behind a crumbling brick wall, Robin crouched down as he watched the bear huff around, trying to locate its prey once more.

Whipping his head around, he scanned the area for anything that could be used as a weapon. As the bear stalked closer, his eyes finally landed on one of the bars to a cell, the structure around it crumbling. A grin appeared on his face as he reached over, just as the bear located him.

Letting out a roar, the bear charged towards him. Sweat dripped down Robin's face as he tried to separate the bar from the wall around it. Just as the bear reached him, he twisted around, swinging the bar outward, the sharp metal hitting the bear in the nose, a loud crack filing the air.

The bear roared in fury and pain as it scratched at its now crooked nose. Robin took this time to catch his breath, eyes still locked onto the bear. Suddenly, the creature surged forward, slamming its front paws down, pinning Robin to the ground.

Twisting himself around, the boy tried to escape from the creature's hold, but it held fast. Curling its claws, Robin let out a shout of pain as the long talons began to draw blood as they pierced his shoulder. Lowering its head, the bear bared its teeth, drool dripping from its open maw. Gritting his teeth, Robin gripped the bar tightly and rammed it into the one of the bear's open eyes, the creature reeling back in fury and howled in pain.

Quickly scrambling to his feet, Robin watched as the bear lifted it's gaze, blood dripping down its face. Narrowing his eyes, Robin watched as the bear stalked forward. _I have to finish this. I still need to find Danny._ He thought to himself. Suddenly, he reached down and hurled one of the nearby rocks at the bear, the stone slamming into the creature's head.

The bear's eyes began to glow a vicious red as it let out an ear-piercing roar and shot forward. Turning on his heel, Robin began to sprint down the hallway once more, turning back down the corridor where they had first started the battle. Lining himself up with the monster's cage, he crouched down on the ground and waited for the creature to round the corner.

Setting its sights on Robin, the bear bared its teeth as it scraped its claws along the cement. Finally, it charged forward. Robin watched as the bear bore down on him, not moving a muscle to try and get out f its path. Finally, right before the creature could lay a claw on him, he leapt up into the air, the bear charging right under him, right back into its cage.

Landing back down on the ground, Robin ran over and slammed his fist down on the control panel, the glass sliding back over the opening to the cage, sealing the creature back inside its confines.

Letting out a roar of rage, the bear slashed and swiped at the glass, but it held firm. It bared its teeth and snarled at the boy from behind the glass as it watched him. Turning away, Robin placed a hand to his shoulder, wincing as he applied pressure to the wound. Trudging back up the stairs, the bear's roars echoed off the walls as he walked, intent on finding his brother once more.

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **6:24 p.m.**

The waves crashed against the rocks at the base of the tower, spraying and misting whoever walked along them. The smell of the salt filled the air, but did little to ease her sorrow. Her boots skipped and tripped along the jagged rocks, but she didn't even seem to register them as she walked, stopping at the edge of the rocks, overlooking the water before her.

Silently, she took a seat on one of the larger rocks and placed a hand to her head, holding it up as everything else seemed to come crashing down. How could everything fall apart so quickly? She couldn't make any sense of it. The dark clouds overhead, began to release large drops of water, but she didn't care. Not even when the light drops turned into a downpour. She just continued to stare out at the horizon.

She heard the rocks shift as someone else walked over them, but she didn't bother herself to turn and look. She merely waited for them to take a seat next to her, dark blue cloak revealing who it was. "What are you doing out here, Sam?" Raven asked as she stared out at the water as well.

She shrugged, remaining silent as she watched the moon slowly rise higher into the sky, a deep rumble of thunder echoing off the dark clouds. Sam was surprised. In a situation like this, Raven would normally just create a dome of black magic to surround her, keeping her safe and dry from the weather. But she did no such thing this time. In fact, she actually began to lower her hood, drops of rain sliding down her pale skin and rolling off her lavender hair.

"Nothing yet?" Sam asked, turning to face the girl. Raven shook her head and closed her eyes. "No. They haven't contacted us yet. We haven't heard anything." She explained, watching as Sam closed her eyes and turned her head upwards, opening them once more to watch the rain fall from the sky. "Did Valerie finally do as we asked?" She asked, not even bothering to turn her head. Raven nodded. "Yeah, she finally agreed to head back to Amity to watch and monitor the ghost activity, so long as we keep her in the loop with what is happening." She explained, turning back to Sam, who said nothing.

Raven shifted her eyes then turned towards the girl once more. "Sam, I know this is hard. Believe me, I do-" She started, only for Sam to round on her. "Oh, you do, do ya'?! _You_ know what this is like?!" She shouted, hoping the water rolling down her cheeks was rain. "You know that-"

"That your friends are in danger and you can't do anything about it? That everything seems to be hopeless? That...that just the idea of them in danger makes you sick to your stomach and it's a pain that refuses to go away no matter what you do? Yes, Sam. I know what that feels like!" Raven shouted back, an action that shocked Sam to her core as she watched Raven's cheeks began to turn red at the sudden outburst.

The sorceress cleared her throat as she wiped her cheek of the drop that she also hoped was merely rain. "I know. And I wish there was some magic word that I could say that makes it all better. Something that wraps up everything with a pretty bow. Something that makes everything you're feeling right now disappear, to make all the hurt go away. But I can't. I can't, Sam because nothing like that exists because it's not true. There is nothing I could say right now that would make all of this go away. Because it doesn't" She explained, Sam hunching her shoulders as she turned away.

Raven placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her to turn back. "But there was something that helped me get through something like this." She said.

Sam faced her as she waited for the girl's answer. Raven sighed and closed her eyes. "All I needed was someone to believe. I needed someone to believe that things were going to get better. That everything would eventually work out in the end. That we would win. That we'd all be okay and things would go back to normal. I needed someone to believe in me...cause I sure didn't."

She shook the girl's shoulder gently. "I will be that person for you, Sam. I will help you believe that we will get them back, because I know we will. I will help you believe that they will make it home safe and sound because I _know they will_. I will believe for you, even if you don't." She reassured the girl.

Sam shifted her gaze for a moment, then shut her eyes and reached over, enveloping Raven in a large hug, resting her head on the girl's shoulder, much to the sorceress' shock. Nevertheless, she hugged the girl back, a small smile even gracing her lips as they did.

Finally, Sam cleared her throat and pulled away, wiping the "rain" from her cheeks as she stood, Raven doing the same, placing her hood back over her eyes, becoming her usual self once more. "Remind me again why we had to do this in the rain?" She monotoned as they walked back to the tower, Sam snorting out a laugh as they did.

* * *

 **Unknown Place**

 **Unknown Time**

Pulling his hand away from the wound, Robin could see that the blood was finally starting to clot. Lowering his hand, Robin paused at the corner of the hallway, poking his head out to see if the coast was clear. Gasping, he pulled it away and dove behind one of the wall outcrops. Peeking out, he watched as two ghosts walked past.

He grit his teeth as recognition kicked in. Skulker walked down the hallway, Ember at his side. Straining his head, the boy could just make out what they were saying.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck on patrol?" Ember groaned in boredom as she trudged on.

Skulker shrugged his shoulders. "We're on probation, remember? WE'll have to work our way up to have them trust us with anything else." He explained. "Every other ghost around here has to do the same thing. But it shouldn't take them long to finally recognize my true power." He boasted with a grin.

Ember rolled her eyes. "If you ask me, I don't even think this is really worth it anymore." She muttered under her breath.

Skulker growled. "Well nobody forced you to try and join!" He growled at her, the girl beginning to round on him as well as they disappeared around a corner, Robin barely able to catch the last shout as they left. "That's not true! You did! You forced me!"

Rolling his eyes, the boy hopped out of his hiding spot once more and rolled across the floor, pressing his back against the other wall. Letting out a sigh, Robin righted himself once more and began to warily creep around the hallways. Checking back and forth through the cells, he saw that Danny was nowhere to be scene.

Letting out a groan of frustration, the boy slumped against the wall and placed a hand to his head. The fights with the creature seemed to have been ages ago. He had been wandering through the hallways for hours as he tried to find the boy. Maybe it was pointless.

Shaking his head, he continued to walk along the halls. As he walked, he noticed that there were no decorations on the walls. No trophies of a hunt. No pictures. No tapestries. Nothing. Every wall was bare.

All except one.

Narrowing his eyes, he approached one of the walls, a large red tapestry hanging from the cement. It was a royal red with gold embellishments and stitchings. Placing a hand on the fabric, he pulled away quickly at the icy breeze he felt from behind it. Grabbing the sides of the tapestry, he threw is sideways, revealing a large door.

Reaching forward, he placed a hand on the lock. It was...simple. As if someone wanted him to unlock it. Nevertheless, this was the closest thing to a lead he had received in his hours of searching. Reaching into his boot, he pulled out the pin and placed it in the lock. After a few moments of jiggling, the recognizable click of the keys unlocking was heard.

Reaching towards the handle, Robin pulled the door open, a blast of chilly air hitting him in the face. Letting out a couch of surprise, he placed his hands to his arms and tried to heat himself up as he walked down the dark stairs. Dread set in him. Last time he had walked down a flight of suspicion stairs, he had used up most of his energy in a meaningless fight with a monster.

Shaking his head, he continued onward, arriving at a large room lit by many lights that were strung to the ceiling. In the center of the room, a large cell o could be seen, a limp shape on the floor of the confines. A shape with noticeably messy black hair. Running forward, Robin began to press a series of commands into the control panel, same as the bear's controls.

Finally, the glass wall lifted up into the ceiling. Running inside, Robin slid on his knees towards the limp shape, scooping it up into his arms. At first touch, Robin almost pulled away. His skin was ice cold to the touch. Fear struck in his stomach. "Danny? Danny?!" He called as he shook the boy. Glancing down, he realized there were glowing green cuffs on him as well. But these weren't like the ones that had been on Robin. They were...different. The skin around the cuffs seemed pale, paler than the rest of his body and even the veins seemed different. They were an eerie green.

Narrowing his eyes, Robin placing the pin in the locks, quickly uncuffing the boy. The green veins glowed brighter for a moment before slowly disappearing. Turning back to the boy, Robin continued to try and get a response. Finally, Danny began to cough violently as he turned on his side and tried to clear his throat.

Letting out a groan, he turned back to Robin, the Boy Wonder smiling slightly as he helped Danny sit up against the back wall of his cell. "Robin?" He asked hoarsely. Robin scooted forward and placed a hand on the boy's cold shoulder. "Yeah, Danny. I'm here. I'm okay." He reassured the boy.

Danny sighed in relief as he gazed around at the cell. "Where are we?" He asked.

Robin shook his head. "I was hoping you knew." He sighed.

Danny shrugged his shoulders and turned to the side, beginning to cough once more. Robin placed a hand on his back as the boy continued to hack. Glancing towards the cuffs that limply lay across the floor, Robin narrowed his eyes as he picked them up. "I think these cuffs did something to you." He explained as he showed them to the boy.

Danny groaned and shied away from them, Robin quickly placing them back down on the ground. "Probably another toy courtesy of Vlad. He's always finding new ways to tamper with my powers." Danny explained as he shuddered. Robin furrowed his brow. "And the temperature of this room isn't helping much, either." He growled in anger.

Scooting over towards the wall, Robin heated his hands and placed them on Danny's shoulders, trying to add some heat back into the boy. Danny lowered his head and scooted his knees forward, hugging them tightly as he tried to get some warmth out of it.

Robin furrowed his brow as he stood up once more. "Hang on, Danny. I'll be right back." He said as he ran out of the cell and back up the stairs. Exiting the stairwell once more, he found that the hallway was now starting to get chilly as well. _So much for bringing him up here._ He muttered to himself. Going over to the tapestry, he grabbed the sides and yanked on the fabric again and again until it fell off the hinges and to the floor.

Quickly grabbing the fabric, he raced down the stairs once more and entered the cell, placing the cloth around Danny's shivering shoulders. The boy glanced up in surprise at the sudden feeling of warmth. Robin smiled and took a seat next to the boy. "Thanks, Robin." Danny sighed with a smile. "

"Don't mention it." Robin sighed as he finally took a minute to relax, his eyes beginning to droop. As they did, he felt warmth draped over his shoulders as well. Opening his eyes he saw that half of the cloth was around him now. Letting a smile onto his lips, the two boys scooted closer together, the cloth wrapping together around both of them as they fell asleep, both feeling safer now that the other was around.

* * *

 **Awwww! Okay, I'm sorry and not to sound braggy...but even you all have to admit that scene was ADORABLE!**

 ***ahem* sorry...**

 **Anyway, the next chapter should be out soon. You'll finally find out what the boys plan on doing to get out of there. And you will also find out soon what the Order's plan is. OOOooooo!**

 **So find out what happens next on The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions**


	14. Chapter 14: Hope(less)

**Chapter 14: Hope(less)**

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

 **Unknown Time**

A fresh wave of chills traveled up his arm as he cracked open his eyes, the frigid sensation of the room bursting right back to him as the last bit of warmth that had wrapped around him whilst he had slept abandoned him. Letting out a shaky breath which was clearly visible in the frigid temperatures, Danny slowly pushed himself up against the wall.

As he moved, he felt something stir besides him as Robin began to awaken as well. Popping his eyes open, Robin whipped around with wide eyes as he tried to remember where he was. The dark walls and dim lights finally registered in his mind as he sighed and slumped against the wall. "You good?" Danny asked quietly as he began to rub the back of his neck.

Robin groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "How are we gonna get out of here?" He asked, even though he knew Danny didn't have the answer.

The ghost boy turned towards the boy. "Hey, did you get a glimpse of anything going on around here?" He asked. Robin nodded. "Yeah, I had to hide from Skulker and Ember when I was searching and I'm pretty sure I found the ghosts running this whole thing." He explained.

Danny leaned forward. "Describe them."

"Well I saw Hotep-Ra again and Vlad. And if I add up the information I read in those files of yours with the ghosts I saw, then Spectra, Prince Aargon, Undergrowth and Vortex are a part of this, along with some ally of Vlad's that's keeping them all in check." He explained.

Danny groaned and placed a hand to his head. "Man, Vlad wasn't kidding about those super strong allies. He was right. All of those ghosts were some of the hardest to beat. And now they're all together?!" He shouted in exasperation. Turning back to Robin, the Boy Wonder could see a look of despair on his face. "Robin, I...I don't know how we're gonna do this."

Robin placed a hand on his shoulder. "How we always do it. As a family." Placing his hand on the back of the cell for support, the boy pushed himself up onto his feet, stretching out a hand towards Danny, lifting the boy up as well. "But first thing's first. We have to contact them."

Danny tilted his head. "And just _how_ do you plan on doing that? _We_ don't even know where we are, let alone the others. And even if we did have any clue, we have no communicator." He explained.

Robin narrowed his eyes as he began to make his way out of the cell. "Vlad likes to be in control of things, right?" HE called as the two started to walk up the narrow flight of stairs. Danny scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's only his favorite thing to do."

Robin nodded. "Well if he wants control of us, he'll want to have all the pieces on hand, including my utility belt. And if that room I came across has any meaning, then that's probably where well find it." He explained.

"Yeah. That...and all the other ghosts." Danny countered as they walked out into the large hallway once more.

Robin furrowed his brow. "You might have to cause a distraction while I try and contact Cyborg. Have your powers come back yet?" He asked, turning back towards the boy.

Danny raised his arm and tried to summon an ecto-blast, but all that appeared was a small spark of green before it disappeared again. Danny growled and let his arm fall back to his side. "Nope. Whatever those cuffs were, they were strong." He sighed as he began to rub his sore wrists, his fingers now grazing over the old and new scars that were appearing. _Guess these aren't meant to heal._ He thought bitterly as he gazed at his scar-covered wrists.

Robin groaned and shut his eyes as he began to rub the bridge of his nose. "Alright. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but first we have to actually find the room." He sighed as he began to walk, turning back when Danny cut in. "Find it? I thought you said you already found it." He crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you forgot where it is." He muttered.

Robin's eye twitched as he turned back to face the boy. "Listen, there are tons of rooms here! And let's not forget I had to hide from patrolling ghosts every couple minutes _and_ was still on the lookout for your sorry butt AND I had been searching for hours before and after I had found it. So EXCUSE me if my brain's a little scattered right now!" He growled.

Danny smirked as he passed the boy and began to walk down the hall. "Whatever you say, Rob. Whatever you say."

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **6:37 a.m.**

Cyborg typed away furiously from his station, glancing up at the screen every once in a while. He let out a sigh as his search came up empty. Nothing! Nothing matched what they were looking for. He let out an irritable sigh. They had to be somewhere! Vlad would never keep them somewhere where he didn't feel comfortable, so where could they be.

He sighed and sat back in the chair, placing a hand to his forehead. If only they had more information on Vlad. Sam, Tucker and Jazz knew more than the other Titans, but they didn't have nearly the same relationship with him as Danny, let alone the information. And with Robin, he would have probably called in a favor from a king of a no-name country or something ridiculously impossible like that to track Vlad down. "Man, The two things we need to crack this thing _are_ Robin and Danny."

The others mumbled their agreements from around the room, where they were having the same amount of luck as Cyborg was.

None.

Raven opened here eyes once more and sighed as she relaxed her mind once more and slowly levitated back down onto the ground. "Nothing. I can't get a psychic connection with either of them." Starfire raised her head from the table where she sat. "And I have not been able to find and sightings of Vlad or Hotep-Ra." She called.

Beastboy groaned and slumped. "Man! It's like they don't even exist anymore!" He shouted, earning a hard whack from Raven, which he did not appreciate. "Hey! Dude, what was that f-" He started, only to quickly shut up when he saw the looks on Sam, Tucker and Jazz.

The three had been doing what they could to stay focused and help the other Titans search, but they couldn't stop themselves from worrying. The last time their friend had been taken, he had returned with horrible injuries and mental scars. They could only imagine what his ghostly enemies would try to do.

Jazz and Tucker shook their heads and dived back into their work, trying their hardest to concentrate. Sam, however, couldn't keep the words in front of her from moving and skipping across the page. Letting out a sigh, she placed a hand to her head and tightly shut her eyes, trying to keep the migraine at bay.

The other Titans slumped and continued to work at their posts. Sam suddenly narrowed her eyes and slammed the book loudly, standing up from her spot on teh couch. "This isn't getting us anywhere!" She growled to the others.

She turned to Cyborg. "There has to be something else that happened when Danny and Robin were taken. You have to tell us anything that could be important." She instructed. Cyborg sighed. "Sam, I don't think anything else _can_ help us. We told you everything."

"There were these freaky tentacle-looking things that snatched them up before we could even do a thing!" Beastboy shouted, shuddering a bit at the memory. Starfire walked over. "There was also much wind that swirled around us." She explained. "Raven walked forward. "And I'm not sure, but I thought I heard thunder coming from inside the tower

Sam narrowed her eyes as she went over the information, as well as the information they had received when they first arrived and lifted her head once more. "Tentacles...? Vines?" She turned back towards the Titans. "Were there any flowers? Did they have spores?!"

Beastboy nodded. "Yeah, they floated into the air and did something to Robin and Danny cause they passed out afterwards."

Tucker and Sam faced each other. "Sleep Spores." They agreed simultaneously.

The Titans gave each other confused glances and turned back to them. "What?" Cyborg asked.

Sam shook her head. "Undergrowth. That's the only ghost that we've seen that has the ability to control and manipulate plants to do his bidding."

"And if what you said about those booms of thunder are true, then we might also be dealing with Vortex again. The weather ghost." Tucker explained to the others, Jazz nodding beside him. Sam stepped forward and narrowed her eyes. "Danny keeps files on all of these ghosts. How come you couldn't find out anything?" She asked.

Cyborg growled under his breath and turned to her, agitation clear in his eyes. "We tried, but his computer had been wiped clean of any information. We couldn't even find the paper copies. We were totally blind. Why do you think we called you guys?"

She shook her head and blinked in confusion, a huff of air escaping her lips as she glared back at the robot. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let me get this straight. So if the files hadn't disappeared...you wouldn't have even called us? You wouldn't have even informed us all of this was happening in the first place!?" SHe shouted at him.

Cyborg stuttered, then clenched his fists. "We would have been able to handle it." He growled through clenched teeth.

Sam scoffed. "Yeah, right. You guys have been handling it so well so far! God! What gives you the right, tough guy? HUH?!" SHe snarled as the poked at his chest.

Starfire and Jazz stepped forward, the two pushing in between their feuding teammates. "Enough, you guys!" Jazz yelled.

"Yes. No more mean talk. I do not enjoy it!" Starfire told the two.

Sam crossed her arms and turned her back. "Whatever. I just want to find the boys."

Cyborg sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's all I want to do, too. I'm sorry, Sam. I'm just..."

"Afraid? Then that makes two of us." She sighed as she covered her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes, trying to regain focus on the task on hand. Turning back to the others, they began to go through the information once more.

"Alright. So we have at least three ghosts that wee can confirm are in the order, four if yu count Vlad." Raven stated.

Jazz nodded and furrowed her brow. "But that probably wouldn't be enough for Vlad. He'd want someone else who's more mind than anything else. Someone who is just as cunning and deceptive as he is." She stated to the others.

Tucker shrugged his shoulders. "Most of the ghosts Danny's fought are more strength than anything."

Jazz smirked. "But I do remember a certain shadow that had her wits about her when she tried to fry me." She sighed as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Spectra."

Sam and Tucker turned to each other, shuddering as they did. "Ugg. That lady gave me the creeps." He groaned as he rubbed his arms, the memorie of the lady flittering back to him. Sam shook her head and continued her trail of thought. "Alright, well if Vlad is sticking true to his decaying roots, then he'll also want some reassurance."

Starfire tilted her head. "I do not understand."

Tucker sighed. "It means he'll also want a ghost that has a large number of goons behind it. And the only ghosts I know that have that much support are The Fright Knight with his undead army, and Prince Aargon with his rally of underground supporters in the kingdom."

Jazz sighed and placed her head in her hands. "Ugg...none of those options are good." came her muffled response. "Especially if they're together."

Sam narrowed her eyes and turned back to the others. "Alright. We have the members, now lets see is we can come up with a location and find out if their communicator signals come back on." The others nodded in response, quickly moving back to their stations to try and figure out if they could get a fix on the boys.

Sam turned away from the bustling Titans and placed a hand on the cool window, staring out at the bay and the hills beyond it, the sun beginning to creep out from the rolling green grass. She sighed and placed her forehead against the glass.

"Where are you?"

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

 **Unknown Time**

The lights flickered overhead as the boys crept down the hallways. Danny gasped as a rat scurried out onto the path, grabbed a crumb, then disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He sighed and shook his head. Robin turned to him. "You seem jumpy."

Danny gave him a sideways look. "And you're not? Seriously, how is this not getting to you more?" He asked.

Robin shrugged and peeked around a corner, giving Danny the thumbs up when he saw nobody. Turning down the corridor, the Boy Wonder kept his eyes forward as he talked. "Maybe cause I'm more used to these things, I guess. Let's face it, this isn't a normal situation for you, is it?" He asked.

Danny shook his head. "The closest I've ever come to this was when Vlad kidnapped me to try and get my mid-morph DNA, but even then, I at least knew where I was. With this..." He turned and swept his gave over the walls. "...I don't have a clue."

Robin furrowed his brow as he turned back to the boy. "That reminds me...you've never told me how you met Vlad."

Danny raised a brow. "I haven't?

Robin shook his head, leading Danny to shrug. "Not much to tell, really. It started when my parents got an invitation to their college reunion, which was being hosted at the house of one Vlad Masters, billionaire of the year, second to Bruce Wayne in terms of money."

Robin narrowed his eyes as they passed a small winding staircase. Grabbing Danny's arm, he pulled him up the stairs, the small steps leading to another level, one that was almost the exact opposite of the level below them. This was more high-tech and modern with some hints of the older makings and models. Different rooms lined the walls, large doors sealing them off from the rest of the hallway.

Carefully walking over, a sign could be seen next to one of the doors.

 **Tech Labs**

Before the boys could make another move, the handle to the door jiggled. The boys gasped and darted back behind the corner, peering out right as two men walked out, each holding clip-boards. "Why did Masters make us built this humongous place, again?" One of them asked.

The other snorted as they walked out the door, oblivious to the fact that they left it open. "Who knows? The dude's a total ass. but we got paid nonetheless, so i don't really care."

the first guy frowned and rubbed his arms. "Whatever. I just want to get out of here. This place gives me the creeps, especially that lower level. Masters won't even let us down there! Creepy." The man snorted again. "Probably has hostages or dead bodies down there." He joked as they walked out of sight.

If only they knew.

Robin hummed in thought, then quickly walked into the room with the different monitors and computers, Danny quickly following behind him. "What is it?" Danny asked as he watched Robin scan over the monitors and load up one of the computers. "Trying to see if I can get a message out on one of these things, or at least find out where we are.

As the computer loaded, a box appeared in the center of the screen, requesting a password. Robin growled, then turned to Danny. "Got any ideas?" The ghost boy sighed. "Just one." He said as he reached down and typed in _MaddieFenton._

Instantly, the computer opened, Robin cracking his knuckles as he set to work. "Keep watch by the door." Robin instructed as his fingers began to fly over the keys. Danny nodded and moved over to the door.

After a few moments of silence, other than the fast licking of the computer keys, Robin's eyes finally widened as a large blueprint of the building popped up onto the screen. "Whoa..."Danny breathed as he moved over from the door to stand next to the boy, gazing at the print, which described just how big their prison actually was.

There were two main levels to the building. The top one, which was the only part seen above-ground. It wasn't much to look at, especially to passer-byers. It had the view of a rundown old mansion that appeared to be centuries old. But after accessing a secret passage in the heart of the run-down building, you were instantly brought down to the second level, which was underground. The actual underground structure delved down into three more levels, each seeming different from the last, apart from the fourth level right underneath the above-ground structure. That seemed to be the main base.

Robin narrowed his eyes. "If I'm reading this thing correctly, then we're only on level 3, second from the bottom. And if I'm remembering right, then their main set is on level 1." He said as he scanned over the rest of the building. Danny nodded and turned back to the door. "See if you can figure out anything else." He called as he whipped his head back and forth, making sure nobody had snuck up on them during their little distraction.

Robin furrowed his brow as his fingers began to swim over the keys once more. After a few more minutes, he gasped and called the ghost boy over once more. "I think you need to see this." He said.

Danny's eyes widened as he gazed back at the screen. "Alaska?! We're in Alaska?!" HE shouted in disbelief.

Robin groaned and placed a hand to his forehead. "Not only in Alaska. We're right in the middle of one of the state's most densely-packet forests. Even if we do get out of here, we'd be surrounded by thousands of miles of forest."

Danny sighed as he shut his eyes and began to rub the bridge of his nose. "Alright. First thing's first. We need to get out of here. Which means we need to contact the other Titans."

Robin nodded. "I tried sending out a signal with these things, but they don't seem to give off any electrical signals that Cyborg could track." He sighed as he stood once more. "All we need to do is get that communicator and contact the others." He said.

"Guess we should get moving." Danny sighed as the cautiously exited the room and ran back over to the stairs, quickly racing up them as they hurried to get to level 1. "Anyway, you were saying..." Robin said with a small smirk as they walked.

Danny furrowed his brow for a moment before realization dawned on him once more. "Oh, right. Anyway...Vlad and my dad used to be great friends back in college until one day when..." They continued the story as they walked down the dark hallways, he only thing keeping the boys' nerves in check.

* * *

 **Fifteen Minutes Later**

A bead of sweat rolled down Danny's forehead as the two boys hid behind one of the outcrops in the wall, the pair of guards slowly floated by, each wearing the same grim expressions. Finally, the two boys allowed themselves to breath as the ghosts disappeared around a corner.

Hopping out from behind their hiding spot, Robin turned to Danny. "That's the third patrol in the last twenty minutes. Must mean we're getting close." He realized as they continued to walk down the dimly-lit hallway.

The flickering lights overhead made the shadows underneath the boys dance on the walls as they walked through the corridors silently, keeping close to the walls as they did so. Finally, they came to a large grand staircase, the same Robin had fist raced up to avoid the very first pair of guards he had seen.

He narrowed his eyes and motioned to the structure. "It's this way." He stated as he began to walk up the stone stairs, Danny following close behind. Finally, they reached the top, the large entryway to the main room looming ominously ahead.

The two boys exchanged glances before quietly moving closer to peek inside.

Sitting around the table, Spectra and Prince Aargon bickered amongst each other while Vortex watched with a small smirk. Robin narrowed his eyes. "Only three. Which means the others must be around here somewhere." He whispered as he scanned the large room for any signs of the other ghosts.

As he searched, his eyes landed upon a shining metal belt sitting across the room, behind the table where the ghosts sat. It sat in a small cage composed of small green vines and sharp black thorns. Along with it sat many other weapons of his including his staff, multiple bird-a-rangs and a couple explosive pellets.

He turned back to the boy beside him. "Still no luck with your powers?" He asked.

Danny raise his hand in front of him and tried turning it invisible. The limb flickered for a moment before reverting back into it's solid shape. Danny sighed and let the limb fall back to his side. "Sorry, Rob."

"It's alright, that just means this will be a lot tougher." HE sighed as he turned back to the room. "We'll need a distraction if one of us even has a chance at making it to the belt over there." He explained. Danny nodded. "Alright, that shouldn't be to hard for me to do while you go and-" he started, only to have Robin shake his head and cut him off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What makes you think I'll let _you_ be the distraction?"

Danny furrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "I didn't think I needed your permission." He muttered with a glare.

Robin glared right back as he continued. "Without your powers, you're pretty much defenseless. So if you think you can take on not one, but three of some of your most powerful enemies, then you have another thing coming."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Defenseless?! I'll have you know that I've been fighting these guys a lot longer than you have. I know their tricks, their references and their flaws. Something you don't have a clue about. Files can't tell you everything, Bird-Brain." HE growled back.

The two boys glared at each other for a moment, before letting out mirroring sighs. "Sorry...it's just...without your powers...I don't want you getting hurt." Robin sighed. Danny lowered his gaze and pressed his back against the wall. "Yeah, I get it. But...I _know_ these guys, Robin. You don't. I just don't want them to take advantage of your lack of knowledge. They know me, they have a grudge against me, meaning they'll be so busy focusing on me that it will take them ages to finally notice you." He explained.

Robin furrowed his brow for a moment before finally letting out a sigh. "Alright. You be the distraction while I go for the communicator. Just...promise me you;ll be careful."

Danny placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and gave a lopsided grin

"Aren't I always?"

* * *

"Are you always this much of an annoyance?" Spectra snapped at the prince as she rubbed her temples. Prince Aargon reared back at the insult. "How DARE you insult royalty like that?! If I wasn't so determined to give that boy everything that's coming to him, I would have you executed in my palace!"

"Don't you mean _your sister's_ palace?" Spectra said with a wicked smirk on her face, the grin growing at the sight of the prince's face.

" _Alright, I'll admit even I'm kind of new to the whole team aspect, but even I know you guys totally suck at it."_

The three ghosts froze before quickly whipping around. Danny stood by the entrance way, back propped up against the wall as he gave the ghosts a two-fingered salute. "Hey guys. How's it been?" He said with a smirk.

Spectra's eyes blazed green. "The boy!" She snarled as she quickly flung her seat back. "Finally. I've been praying for you to escape from your cell so I could have an excuse to pummel you into the ground!" She shouted right as she rushed forward.

Danny narrowed his eyes and flipped onto his back, driving his feet upwards, right into the ghosts's stomach, sending her flying into the ceiling above. "Insolent little vermin!" Aargon snarled as he reached for his amulet, blue fingers wrapping around it as his eyes began to glow red.

Danny gulped as he watched the ghost's body grow in size until he was the form of a full-grown dragon. The creature roared ferociously as it snapped it's large teeth right in the spot Danny had been. Leaping to the side, Danny narrowed his eyes. "Plenty of offense meant, Aargon, but I've just about had it with dragons this year!" He shouted as he slid right under the dragon's outstretched claws...right into Vortex.

Danny gave a nervous smile. Vortex snarled as he raised his hands and let out a large blast of lightning. Danny gasped and dove out of the way of the deadly blast, skidding across the floor as another batch of bolts tried frying him. As he dodged the last one, a bright green blast hit him in the back and sent him crashing into one of the far walls.

Falling back onto the floor, he watched as Spectra flew down from the ceiling towards him, a large black dragon following close behind. Jumping back onto his feet, Danny waited until Spectra was withing a couple feet before jumping into the air and using her shoulders to propel himself over the large snapping dragon.

Landing roughly against the hard floor, he watched as the dragon slammed into the far wall. His small smirk was wiped clean as he was lifted into the air by a large gust of wind. He let out a startled e=yelp as his feet left the ground, watching as Vortex lifted him into the air.

Narrowing his eyes, he pushed off with his feet against the back wall and dove underneath the weather ghost.

Unknown to the ghosts, Danny wasn't the only intruder in the room. Robin watched with a careful eyes as Denny dodged the attacks left and right, his heartbeat quickening whenever he got hit, only to relax a bit when the boy jumped right back up. Quickly sprinting across the room, he skidded on his knees towards the cage.

Narrowing his eyes, he knew he didn't have enough time to maneuver around the vines. Readying himself, he plunged his hands in, gripping the vines tightly as he ripped and pulled at them, ignoring the plants at they tried to defend themselves by wrapping around the boy's arms and slicing him with the large black thorns.

Finally, after ripping away the last one, he reached in and grabbed his belt, not even bothering to put it on as he rummaged through it, pulling out his communicator.

Giving one last glance behind him at Danny, he pressed the large black button on the side of the device.

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **5: 37**

Cyborg scanned the screen for anymore information as he searched. He had been trying to narrow down the places that the boys could be, but the list was still too long. He sighed and turned his chair to gaze at the others. "Anything yet, BB?" He asked.

The changeling shook his head as he gazed at the communicator. "Nope. Nothing yet." He sighed.

"Don't you think they would have contacted us now if they could?" Jazz asked as she walked over.

Sam shrugged her shoulder from her spot at one of the computers. "I don't care. I still want to be ready in case they do have a chance to contact us." She explained to the others, turning back to her monitor.

Tucker sighed. "Yeah, but I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon, Sam."

Just as he finished uttering the very last word, Beastboy's communicator began to blink rapidly. His ears perked up as he began to wave the device around wildly. "I got something! I got something!" He shouted as he ran over to Cyborg, the robot quickly plugging the communicator into the computer.

Tucker shook his head. "Sometimes I love being wrong!" He sighed in relief as he rushed over to the monitor, the others doing the same.

"This it Titans Tower, receiving a communications beacon, Come in." Cyborg called over the transmitting installed into his head.

 _"This...Robin...calling...Tower...com...in, Tower."_ The image on the screen began to slowly flicker to life as well as the audio as the communicator began to pick up the signal. They gasped as Robin appeared on the screen, the sounds of battle playing in the background. His uniform was stained with dark colors and dirt.

"Yo, Robin! Are you okay?!" Cyborg shouted as he stood from his chair to stare up at the large screen. "What the heck's going on? Are you two all right?"

Robin shook his head. "We're okay, for the most part. But I don't have a lot of time." He stated.

Starfire floated up to to the screen. "Robin! Are you unharmed? Please tell me you are!" She cried as she gazed at the boy through the screen.

"I'm fine, Star. But I need you guys to listen. We figured out where we are." He shouted over the line, the sounds of battle drawing closer through the transmission. Robin gasped and dove out of the way of a stray lightning bolt.

"Robin, what's going on? Where's Danny? Is he okay?!" Sam shouted.

"Listen, Danny's okay, but not for long. He can't hold those guys off forever!" He shouted, the communicator shifting to where the Titans could see what was happening in the background. Danny was trying to hold his ground against Spectra, Vortex and a dragon Aargon. "Them, along with Vlad, Undergrowth, Hotep-Ra and one other person are the members." He explained.

Raven floated closer. "Robin, tell us where you are. We can help you."

Robin placed a hand to his head as he tried to block out the sounds of the battle. He gasped as he dodged another blast, eyes widening when he saw that Undergrowth and Hotep-Ra had entered the room and was now aiding the other ghosts in apprehending Danny. He wrenched his gaze away and turned back to the others.

The transmission was now starting to fuzz once more. Cyborg typed a series of commands into the computer, but it did nothing to help. "Robin! Can you hear us?!" He shouted. Robin opening his mouth to reply, only to gasp and dive backwards right as Danny slammed into the wall and fell back down to the floor.

Before he could rush over to help, Danny raised his hand to stop him. "No! I'm finnnnnne!" He shouted, dragging out the last word as he was hoisted up into the air by a large green vine and hurled across the room once more.

Turning back to the communicator, Robin could see that the transmission was dying fast. "Quick, I don't have a lot of time. We found some blueprints to this place and discovered that Vlad's made a whole new base. One unlike all the others." He explained.

A loud book shook the room. "Hurry! We're in some trouble here! Just get over here as fast as you can!" He shouted. He glanced over his shoulder and gasped at what he saw. Turning back to the communicator, he tried spitting out the last sentence as fast as he could. "We're in Alas-"

Suddenly, the transmission cut off as the screen went black, leaving the Titans with a blank screen and shocked faces.

* * *

Robin slammed into the wall with a loud thud, the pink blast dying down in Vlad's hand as he lowered it. "My,my. Haven't we been busy." He said with a smirk as he watched the display across the room. Danny struggled in the grip of one of the vines, slipping out of it's grasp, only to end up hitting the ceiling as the winds drove him upwards and slammed him right back down into the ground.

He groaned and picked himself back up, only to receive a large bolt of lightning to the chest, sending him hurtling across the room. "Danny!" Robin shouted, only to receive a swift kick in the head, sending him reeling backwards. He glared upwards, expecting to see Vlad's smirking face, only to gasp.

Instead, a man dressed in shining back armor stood before him, flaming purple hair shooting out of his helmet. "The Fright Knight." He gasped out, rolling out of the way right as the ghost slammed his boot down onto the ground where the boy used to be.

Jumping onto his feet, Robin readied himself into a defensive stance as he faced the two ghosts. Vlad scoffed. "This should be fun." He stated as his eyes began to glow a violent crimson.

Danny let out a yelp of shock as the vines wrapped around his ankle and flipped him into the air. He gasped as he began to fall, only to be swatted out of the air by a large dragon claw, hitting the back wall with a loud crack. Falling down to the floor, he groaned as he slowly pushed himself up once more, only to have to dodge another blast from Spectra, blasting sands from Hotep-Ra and a fireball from Aargon.

Suddenly, the wind picked up again as Vortex blew him into the air. He screamed as he began to plummet once more, only for Vortex to grabbed onto his wrist before he could hit the ground. His relief was short-lived however as Vortex grinned wickedly as small sparks of lightning shot out of his eyes.

Suddenly the storm cloud's hand lit up with electricity. Danny screamed in pain as the currents rushed through him, his body tensing as the lightning violently surged up and down his muscles. Finally, Vortex ceased the lightning and released his hold on the boy, letting him limply fall to the ground.

Robin watched as the boy fell, dodging another blast from the ghosts in front of him. "Danny!" He shouted, only to let out a shout of pain as one of the Fright Knight's daggers sliced his arm. Vlad snarled and shot a large purple blast at his chest, sending the boy hurtling backwards. Robin groaned and tried to push himself up once more, only to have the Fright Knight grab onto his arms and forcibly restrain them behind his back.

Undergrowth waved his hand, a multitude of vines growing out of the ground and wrapping around Danny's wrists and ankles, propping the boy up once more as he moved over to Vlad and the others. Lining the two boys up together, the ghosts crowded around them in a semi-circle, Vlad grinning wickedly at the front.

"Well...it seems our plan was a complete success!" The man shouted joyously.

Danny groaned as he tried to stay conscious, glaring back at the man, nonetheless. "Plan? What plan?" He asked.

Vlad smirked. "Isn't it obvious, Little Badger?" He asked with a grin. "The plans I have for your friends of course! We never would have been able to get them here without your help. And now that you've so graciously delivered them on a silver platter for us, we can now begin the next phase in our plans." He stated as he began to make his way out of the room, motioning for the Fright Knight to follow.

The vines quickly retracted, dropping Danny into the hands of the Fright Knight as the ghost pushed the two captures along the corridor behind Vlad. "You see, we've been working on this for quite a while and we've just been dying to test it out. Though, we don't have it quite finished yet, so you'll just have to be patient. As for your friends...we'll it's a good thing I stopped you from telling them everything, otherwise they'd be on there way here now. No, thankfully, they have the mental capacity of...well...of teenagers, so it should take them a while to figure out where you two really are. But once they do, it will be too late." He said with a wicked grin as he turned to face the two.

Letting out a sniff, he turned back to the Fright Knight. "Take them down to the Labs. And prepare the first dose." Those words sent chills down both of the boys' spines. Vlad grinned as the Fright Knight pushed the two boys along the corridor, out of sight. He chuckled as his eyes continued to glow a dark crimson. "Now who should I test it on first?"

* * *

 **I'M ALIVE**

 **So so so so so sorry for such a long break in between these chapters. I mean...it was over a month! So unlike me. But things have been pretty hectic with my schedule. SO I apologize, but the next chapter probably won't be out until a while. Hope you can live with that.**

 **Anyway, more of Vlad's plan will be explained in the next chapter, including why he wanted Robin to contact the other Titans in the first place.**

 **So do you guys have any guesses on what the "doses" are for and what Vlad will be testing out, and on who? Leave your predictions about what will happen in the next chapter to come in the comments section. I always love reading what you guys think.**

 **Anyway, stay tuned for the next installment of The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions**


	15. Chapter 15: Mind Games

**Chapter 15: Mind Games**

* * *

 **The Underground**

 **Unknown Time**

Danny struggled against Vlad's grip as the man continued to restrain the boy's hands behind his back. His heartbeat began to quicken as he watched the Fright Knight strap a struggling Robin to a vertically-tilted steel table in the center of the room. Once the Boy Wonder's hands and ankles had been successfully strapped down, Vlad shoved the boy onto the ground.

He gasped and quickly whipped his gaze back up, watching as the Fright Knight stalked closer, ready to tie him to the adjacent table. His breathing hitched as he stole a glance at the shining trap across the room. He flipped over onto his back and began to scoot backwards across the floor, his back hitting the side wall as he tried to get as far away from the steel table as possible.

But it didn't stop the Fright Knight from grabbing onto the front of his shirt and hoisting him up into the air. "Let go of me!" He shouted as he struggled and yanked against the ghost's grip, but it held firm. Lifting him up, the Fright Knight strapped him in, one limb at a time, to the steel table.

Robin turned his head and saw a look of pure terror on the boy's face as he tried yanking free of the restraints. "Danny, calm down. It's alright." the boy stated reassuringly. Danny lowered his head and took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind of the horrible images that were appearing.

Lifting his gaze once more, he glared straight back at Vlad. "Alright, Vlad. You have us here. Now what do you want?"

The man smirked and walked across the room towards one of the tables that lined up against eh wall. Leaning down, he picked up a pile of papers and began to shuffle them. "Well, to understand that I guess I must explain what happened before."

"That would be nice." Robin growled.

Vlad smirked. "Well...as I'm sure you know by now, this place is quite large. Frankly, I'm very proud of the way it turned out." He said with a prideful grin. "Anyway, considering how much time and effort went into creating it and making it virtually impenetrable, I'm sure you wondered why there were so many clues and hints that led to your escape, am I right, Robin?

The Boy Wonder's mind flashed back to the rusted grate and the power conduits that led down a distinct tunel, and the easily picked lock that led to the monster attack. He narrowed his eyes. "Those were purposefully placed, weren't they?" He growled.

"My, my, aren't you smart. Then again, you were trained by the 'World's Greatest Detective'." Vlad grinned, quoting the air around him. Robin grit his teeth angrily. Vlad continued nonetheless. "Yes, those were purposeful, as was your escape, Robin. It had all been planned before your feeble little mind had even thought of conceiving a plan." He grinned.

Robin clenched his fists as Vlad began to circle around the two tables where the boys were strapped. "And that monster? The one the power conduits led to?"

Vlad chuckled at that. "Did you like that? Yes, that was merely a precaution. It really made no difference whether it killed you or not, although it did prove to us that you are exactly what we are looking for. You and Daniel both." he said with a wicked grin.

The two boys shared concerned looks as Danny continued. "Nevertheless, we knew you would find your little friend eventually. And when you did, we knew you would try and contact those pathetic teammates. But what you didn't know was that it was our plan to get them here all along."

Danny and Robin exchanged confused glances before turning back to Vlad.

"Yes, we could have contacted them ourselves, but that wouldn't assure they would come. No, we needed someone they trusted to contact them. And what better boys than the ones they're so desperately trying to find. Now it's only a matter of time before they get there and we can put our full plan into motion." He said with a smirk, walking over to the metal table once more, pulling out and rummaging through one of the drawers.

"Plan? What plan?" Danny asked.

"Oh you'l see soon enough. But first, a dry run is in order." Vlad said as he lifted up a gleaming syringe, a mysterious glowing green ooze secured inside. Walking over to stand in front of the two boys, he grinned as he caught the fearful look on Danny's face. Stalking closer, he waved the syringe in his face. "I'm sure this brings back some terrible memories, doesn't it, Little Badger?" He said with a smirk.

Images of share needles, whirring machines, blinding electrocutions and slashing knives flashed before Danny's eyes as his mind began to go haywire. A whimper escaped his lips as he shied his head away and shut his eyes tightly, trying but failing to get the sounds of agents out of his ears as everything else melted away. Not even the sound of Robin's voice could cut through the thick fog of terror that clouded his mind as he sank lower and lower into the thick black sludge of those memories.

Robin could only watch as Danny broke down into what seemed like one of the worst panic attacks he had ever seen overcome the boy. Glaring daggers at Vlad, he fought against he restraints. "Get away from him!" He shouted, wanting nothing more than to beat the living daylights out of the man that was destroying his friend's mind.

Vlad grinned at the reaction coming from both boys and moved back into the center of the room. "Very well. Then we'll just have to test it on you." He said with a grin as he walked closer. Robin's eyes widened as he struggled against he restraints.

But it was no use. Grabbing his arm, Vlad stuck the needle into his bloodstream and released the green liquid. Robin winced at the burning sensation but blinked in surprise when the feeling quickly went away. Vlad cleared his throat and placed ghe empty syringe back onto the table. "See? That wasn't too hard, was it?" He said with a smirk.

Robin narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth as he held back a wave of fresh curses he wished to rain upon the man. Walking over, the Fright Knight undid the restraints that held up Danny, the boy limply falling into the ghost's arms. Robin felt his stomach twist in anxiety as he watched the limp body of his friend in the arms of the enemy.

Vlad walked over and began to undo the first restraint on Robin's arm, only to lean closer and whisper into his ear. "I don't recommend you try anything boy. Otherwise, we'll just have to take it out on the boy, and frankly, I don't think you want that." Vlad said with a smirk. Robin clenched his fists in fury.

Releasing the boy from his bonds, Vlad stepped away and watched as Robin nimbly dropped back down to the floor. He willed himself not to surge forward and begin pummeling the man in front of him, lest anything happen to Danny. Vlad smirked as he realized the boy wouldn't engage. Turning away, he motioned with his hand for the boy to follow.

Robin turned his head towards Danny before following, the Fright Knight dragging the limp boy behind him. As they walked down the corridor, Robin noticed that the cells seemed to become more refined and secure the farther down they went. Finally, Vlad stopped and turned towards one of the cells, typing in a series of commands into the control panel before the large glass wall lifted up into the ceiling.

This new cell was much different from the last one Robin had been stuck in. Inside, it was much more refined. The walls were a solid concrete and the floor held no grates or anything else that might be able to aid in an escape.

"When the time comes... _destroy him for me._ " He whispered in the boy's ear before a hard shove to the back, courtesy of the man, sent Robin sprawling on the floor of the cell. The Fright Knight threw Danny down to the ground as well as Vlad typed on the commands once more and the glass panel dropped down once more, the glass slamming back into place right before Robin could rush out, his hands slamming into the glass as he glared back at the two men.

Vlad smirked at him as the two began to walk back down the hallway. As Robin turned, he noticed a metal box in the corner of the room, a high-tech lock secured onto the front, a timer slowly counting down from it, and judging from it, he still had to wait two more hours until whatever was encased in it was revealed to him.

He narrowed his eyes and turned back, eyes widening as he remembered Danny. Rushing forward, he grabbed the boy's shoulders and lifted his head into his lap. The boy's body shook in fear and his eyes were glossed over and unfocused as he stared out at nothing.

Robin hugged Danny's shoulders tightly and gently rocked back and forth, hoping the boy would snap out of it soon.

* * *

 **Titans Tower**

 **5:45 pm**

"Robin? Robin! Come in, Robin!" Cyborg shouted through the comm, only to have the screen stay in the same static condition.

"He's not gonna answer, Cyborg. Their connection's gone. Vlad must have gotten to them." Raven sighed as she flew over.

Sam paced back and forth, hands running through her hair as she tried to calm down. Beastboy and Starfire glanced at each other, worry reflected in each of their eyes and Tucker and Jazz wrung their hands as they watched Cyborg try and get the connection back, even though they knew it was unlikely.

Cyborg shoved the controls away in anger and stood from his seat, placing a hand to his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing any leads they might have gotten had now been thrown out the window, just out of reach.

"The connection's gone. _They're_ gone."

The others stopped moving and slumped over once more, flopping onto the couch in despair as the realization finally began to kick in. That video had been the only lead they had had in days. And it was gone. The boys were gone.

Finally, Sam stood from her seat on the couch and faced the others. "That's it. I'm tired of waiting. And I'm tired of making the boys wait. If we're gonna find them, we're gonna need help. _Big_ help." She stated.

Raven stood up. "Who did you have in mind?"

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

"You got to be kidding me! Are you seriously saying that wings are more reliable than the ability of flight?"

"Want me to say it again?"

Shayera and John were currently having _another_ argument as they sat by the monitors. "Besides, without that little trinket of yours, you wouldn't even be able to get your feet off the ground." The woman snorted as she crossed her arms.

John narrowed his eyes. "Wings are bones. Bones break. And it doesn't take any bones or muscles to levitate off the ground." He countered.

Shayera growled. "You want to try and break _my_ bones? Go ahead. Give it a shot. Anyway, I trust my wings more that that accessory of yours. And I don't need to _charge_ my wings to fly." She countered with a smirk.

"Ugg, would you guys quiet down? Geez, everyday with you two..." Flash shouted, sporting a bag of chips in one hand, a comic in the other.

Diana and Batman entered the room, followed shortly by J'onn and Superman. "Anything important going on anyway? I'm sooo bored." Flash sighed as he finished off the bag of chips and tossed the comic to the side.

Diana rolled her eyes and smiled as she walked over. "I should hope not." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It is nice to relax for a change."

"Seriously." John agreed as he turned back to the monitor right as the screen started to flash red, startling everyone (besides Batman) in the tower. John quicky stood up and began to punch in a series of commands into the computer, Flash zooming over to watch over his shoulder until the screen stopped flashing as a voice began to play over the static as an image began to fight its way onto the monitor.

 _"Tit...Tower to Wa...tower. Come i...achtower."_

The others quickly moved over to the monitors as they watched John step aside to let Batman type a series of buttons into the computer, the image clearing to reveal Cyborg, along with the other Titans behind him, each adorning worried expressions.

"Cyborg? What's wrong? Are you kids alright?" Superman asked from over Batman's shoulder.

Cyborg sighed and shut his eye tightly before glancing back up. "No. no we're not. It's Danny and Robin..." He started, trailing off slightly.

Batman perked up at the sound of his ward's name, the other leaguers casting worried looks his way, knowing of the relationship between Batman and the boy.. Quickly rising from his seat, Batman leaned forward towards the monitor. "What's happened?" He growled darkly.

Cyborg hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh, meeting Batman's gaze, affirming his fears.

"They're gone."

* * *

 **The Underground**

 **1 hr. 50 min. later**

Danny groaned as he slowly cracked open his eyes. Judging from the low amount of light seeping in from one of the cracks in the roof above the hallway outside the cell, he could tell it was starting to get late. Turning back, he noticed Robin sleeping against the back wall. Placing a hand to his head, Danny tried to recall the events from before.

He remembered the fight with the ghosts, contacting the Titans, a lab...

His eyes widened as he remembered the rest. His breathing quickened as he remembered the metal syringe Vlad had waved in his face. He shut his eyes and shook his head as memories tried to seep back into his brain and force his mind into its icy grip once more. Shaking them away, he scooted over to Robin and lifted his arm, scanning his skin for anything unusu...aha!

His eyes landed on a small piercing in his shoulder, no doubt from the syringe.

Danny sighed and shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sat back against the wall.

 _"Doesn't hurt, in case you were wondering."_

Danny looked up once more, coming face to face with Robin as the boy sat up once more. Danny sighed once more. "Robin...I'm sorry. I just couldn't stop th-" he started, only to be cut off as Robin sat up and grabbed his wrist.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. I understand, Danny. I don't think I could go into an environment like that and _not_ have the same reaction as you." He said with a small smile, the action mirroring on Danny's face as he nodded.

"So where are we now?" Danny asked as he stood up, Robin beginning to do the same.

"Another cell. But I don't think we'll be getting out of this one." The Boy Wonder sighed, watching as Danny moved over to the metal box in the corner, watching as the timer continued to tick down. Now they only had seven minutes until they figured out what was inside.

"Any idea what might be in this thing?" Robin asked, giving it a gentle kick.

Danny shook his head. "Don't know. But I'd try and get as far away from it as I could when that timer reaches zero. Vlad has been known to leave 'special surprises' when you least expect it." He said, quoting the air around him.

Robin nodded. "Duly noted"

As the boys moved to separate sides of the cell, neither of them expected for Robin's arm to begin burning. Nevertheless, the boy;s shout of pain quickly caught Danny attention as he watched the boy slam his back into the wall as he clutched his arm in pain.

Running over, Danny gently placed a hand on the boy's arm and tried to summon whatever flicker of power he _did_ have left and focus it on the sight, a small wisp of frost escaping his hand and materializing on the injection sight in Robin's arm, but it did little to ease the pain as Robin grit his teeth.

As Danny tried to help ease the burning in Robin's arm, he never even noticed the boy's eyes begin the glow red behind his mask and his lips part into a wicked grin until he received a hard roundhouse kick to the gut, sending him flying backwards, his back slamming into the far wall.

He groaned as his body slid down the concrete slab and he hit the ground. Placing a hand to his head he glared back up at the boy. "DUDE! What the heck's your p-" he paused as he noticed the look in Robin's face.

His mouth was turned up in an evil grin and even though he still wore his normal mask, a crimson red glow could be seen behind it, seeping out of the edges of the mask. Even the skin around it seemed cracked, a faint red glow radiating out. Soon the glowing stopped, but Danny could tell that the pigment in his eyes was still a deep red behind the mask, and he never lost the grin on his face.

Robin chuckled as he stalked forward. Danny quickly righted himself on his feet as he watched Robin walk closer. "Robin? What are you doing?" He asked as he watched the boy stop by the metal box, the timer slowly counting down. 03...02...01...00.

He watched as Robin bent down and flipped the metal lid off of the box, reaching down into the depths until his hand gripped what was inside. Lifting his hand, Danny saw that the boy now had his bo-staff, a handful of bird-a-rangs and a ton of explosive pellets in his hands.

Danny's eyes widened as Robin twirled the staff, pointing it at him threateningly. "Robin! Stop this! I know you don't want to do this." He pleaded, realizing that Robin was trapped inside his own mind, exactly like he had been when Freakshow had decided to take his body for a joyride.

"Oh that's where you're wrong, Freak." Robin said with a snarl. "This is gonna be fun!"

* * *

 **Dun, dun dun!**

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger but I really wanted to get a chapter out to you guys before I go underground again. I know! I'm sorry. But my schedule is jam-packed! I have three softball tournaments in a row coming up so I won't be able to work on this throughout te weekends and I'm barely able to work on them during the weekdays so you'll just have to be patient.**

 **Nevertheless, I will get the next chapters out sometime. I promise.**

 **So stay tuned for the next installment of The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions**


	16. Chapter 16: Blind Minds

**Chapter 16: Blind Minds**

* * *

 **The Underground**

 **Unknown Time**

Danny gasped as Robin lunged for him, rolling out of the way right as his metal staff slammed down hard onto the ground. "Robin snap out of it!" Danny shouted, dodging another attack from the metal staff.

Robin grit his teeth as he rammed the end of his staff into Danny's gut, knocking the wind out of the boy before he was hit in the head and sent flying backwards. Danny narrowed his eyes as he picked his head up. "I didn't want to have to do this, Rob. But you leave me no choice." Danny growled as he readied himself into a defensive position.

"You're finally getting into the spirit of things huh, Fenton?" Robin smirked before lunging forward. Danny sidestepped the punch and grabbed the boy's arm as it flew by, twisting it around before flipping the boy onto his back. But he didn't stay down long, for he quickly swung his legs around, knocking Danny to the floor where Robin then proceeded to grab his arm and twist it behind his back.

Danny let out a shout of pain as he felt the limb begin to pop. Rolling across the ground, he flipped Robin off, the boy sliding across the hard concrete before quickly righting himself, facing the boy once more. Danny growled and charged him, sliding under his legs before sending a hard kick towards his side, the attack connecting, sending Robin lurching towards the side wall.

Danny didn't expect for Robin to do a backflip against the wall and end up behind him, a sharp hit ti his shoulder sending him to the floor as he grabbed the area in pain. Robin grinned and sent a hard kick to Danny's chin, the boy letting out a gasp of pain as he lurched backwards, slamming down onto the ground.

Robin took this time to jump onto the boy and press his staff horizontally down onto his shoulders, trapping the boy under the metal bar. Danny struggled against the staff for a moment before glaring back up at Robin. "Why are you doing this, Robin? What makes you think you have to?" He asked, knowing that the serum Vlad gave him must have altered his mind, but he still needed to know whether Robin still had some freedom or whether he was just a mindless clone.

Robin scoffed. "Pretty stupid question, Fenton. You should already know this." He growled.

Danny tilted his head and gave him a confused look, to which Robin responded with a roll of the eyes and a sigh. So the real Robin was still in there.

"God you are such a moron. It's a wonder how I haven't killed you yet. My Master ordered it, idiot. Besides, even if he hadn't, it's just way too much fun messing with you." He said with a sadistic grin as he readied his staff once more.

Danny narrowed his eyes and rolled out of the way, pushing his legs upward, hitting Robin in the gut, sending him flying backwards. Quickly standing once more, Danny threw a series of punches towards the boy, Robin dodging must of them, Danny having mixed feelings when some of the harder ones would connect, driving the boy back a couple feet.

Robin growled and reached into his belt, pulling out a bird-a-rang. At first, Danny expected him to throw it, that is until Robin leaned it forward and slashed Danny across the face. The boy gasped in pain and stumbled backwards. Reaching towards his face, Danny puled his hand back, his fingers stained with a mixture of red and green.

Robin grinned and lunged forward, driving the bird-a-rang towards him. Danny tried his best to dodge while making sure not to get cornered in the space. He groaned in pain as one of Robin's attacks drove the bird-a-rang into his side. Pulling away, Danny hit the back wall, placing a hand to his now bleeding side.

As he tried to access the damage quickly, he watched Robin grab a handful of explosive pellets.

Danny paled before leaping out of the way of the oncoming devices, hitting the ground hard as a small plume of smoke, fire and ash erupted from the corner of the cell. He groaned as he placed a hand to his head, not even realizing Robin was hiding in the smoke until his staff was inches from his head.

The crack of the metal hitting his skull echoed throughout the cells as Danny hit the ground with a thud. Robin walked over slowly, watching as Danny struggled to get up off of the ground, the boy flipping over onto his back, where he lay, breathing heavily. Lifting his staff, Robin pressed a button on the side and three black prongs shot out of the bottom, electricity cracking along them.

He smirked and drove the prongs into Danny's shoulder, the boy letting out a scream of pain as the currents shot through his body. Images of men in white suits flashed across his eyes, the boy quickly ridding himself of the thoughts as Robin retracted the staff. He instead hovered it over the boy's neck.

Danny's eyes widened as he decided to give it one last shot. "Robin, please! I know you don't want to do this!" He shouted.

Robin growled and lowered the staff closer to the boy's neck. "Don't pretend that you know anything about me!" He snarled, his eyes beginning to glow red once more at his fury.

Danny furrowed his brow and clenched his fists. "But I know _everything_ about you!" He shouted. "I know that whenever you do reps, you always have to do them in even numbers." He stated. Robin narrowed his eyes. "So?" He snarled.

Danny continued nevertheless. "I know that you've had a crush on Starfire ever since she kissed you the first time she landed on Earth."

Robin felt his grip on the staff loosen.

I know that you consider Batman to be a father to you, even when you two had that falling out."

His eyes widened.

"And...and I know that your real name is Richard Grayson...and when you were 8, you lived in the circus with your parents. You were a Flying Grayson. And I know what happened that one night."

His breath hitched.

"That one night that changed everything for you. That one night without a net. That one night nobody checked the wires.

"Stop it..." Robin breathed as Danny continued, his eyes beginning to water.

"That one night you lost them."

"Stop it!" Robin shouted as he shut his eyes and grabbed his head.

"I know you wanted nothing more than to get revenge. But you spared Zuko anyway when the time came...because you didn't want to be the same monster he was, even though he took everything from you."

Tears streamed down the boy's face as his hands shook. "H...how do you know that?" He whispered.

Danny gently pushed the staff away as he shakily stood back up on his feet. "Because you've told me. Robin."

"It's me. It's Danny. Your brother. The same person you took in when everything was falling apart around me. The same person who helped you trust people again. The same person who risked everything for the new family he grew to love, including you. The same person who's trying to reach you now." He breathed as he placed a hand on Robin's shoulder.

Robin paused for a moment before letting out a growl as he swung his staff around, hitting Danny in the side, sending him to the ground once more. Robin narrowed his eyes in fury, the red glow leaking out from the corners of his mask as he grit his teeth in insurmountable anger. "Never talk about them again!" He shouted as he lunged, prongs ready to kill.

Danny narrowed his eyes and grabbed the boy's arm, flipping him towards the wall, where his head hit the cement with a loud thud. He swayed for a moment before one final punch from Danny sent him to the floor, darkness engulfing him.

Danny let out a sigh as he limped over to the back wall and slid down it, collapsing as his legs gave out underneath him. his head lolled to the side as he let the wave of exhaustion engulf him, taking the time to enjoy a moment of rest.

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **7:15 pm**

The Leaguers wasted no time getting the Titans up to the Watchtower, wanting to know everything as soon as possible. Exiting the Javelin, the Titans gazed around the bay with almost the same wonder as when they had arrived to the tower the first time, but they quickly righted themselves as Diana led them out of the room and down the hallways to the main bay.

As the doors slid open, the Titans saw that the other Leaguers were already gathered. J'onn and Superman flew down from the monitor station and landed softly next to the others. Batman stepped forward, eyes narrowed as he stopped in front of Cyborg. "Start talking." He growled out.

Cyborg felt his hands creak in nervousness before starting. "W...We had just returned from a mission." He started, his voice gaining more confidence as he continued. "We had just finished trying to come up with a plan to track down this new order of ghosts, the Order of Apparitions." He explained.

Superman furrowed his brow. "What?" He asked.

"We figured out that it was a group of some of the toughest ghosts Danny's ever fought, led by Vlad. And for some reason, they were after both Danny and Robin." Raven added. Batman narrowed his eyes at the mention of his ward, but let the children continue nonetheless. "We were just starting to piece everything together when things...went wrong." Cyborg sighed, trailing off.

Beastboy nodded his head. "There were these freaky vine thingies that shot out of nowhere and grabbed all of us." He shouted flailing his arms around to emphasize his point. In fact, Flash would have found the boys antics refreshing if not for the serious matter at hand.

"Danny and Robin were knocked out and sand and dust flew all throughout the tower. When it all cleared, the boys were gone." Raven explained.

The Leaguers listened on in silence, each stealing glances at Batman from time to time, but the man's face held neutral, holding no emotion.

"It wasn't until a couple hours ago that we got a message from the boys." Sam said as she raised her gaze to meet Batman's. "They must have escaped because Robin seemed flustered when he contacted us and we could hear Danny fighting in the background. He told us of the ghosts and that they were being held in a place unlike the others Vlad has. But the call was cut of before he could tell us where he was. All we got was 'Alas'." She explained.

Shayera turned to the others. "'Alas?' Is that an acronym for somet-" SHe started, only to be cut of as Batman stepped closer to the kids.

"Why weren't we informed earlier about this?" He growled darkly.

Cyborg gulped as he took a small step backwards. "W...we th..thought we could...handle it." He admitted.

"Evidently you couldn't!" Batman snarled angrily.

The mechanical teen clenched his fists angrily. "Hey! We've been up for three days straight trying to figure out anything we could about this. We're doing everything we can!" He defended.

"Well it obviously isn't enough." The Dark Knight growled as he clenched his fists and turned away, pushing through teh other leaguers and out the door. The heroes sighed, realizing it wasn't a very surprising reaction from the man, all things considered. Lantern walked over to the teens, who seemed even more downtrodden than before.

"Look kids. I know you're worried for your friends, but I promise I'll help get them back." He stated.

"We all will." Flash agreed, zooming forward, Starfire flashing him a grateful look.

Diana place her hand on Superman's shoulder, the man nodding as they both walked out the room and down to Batman's room, the one he hardly ever used other than when he was conducting research.

Knocking on the door, they weren't surprised when they received no answer. "Batman?" Diana asked softly as they opened the door, watching as Batman typed away furiously at his computer, eyes never leaving the screen as the two walked in.

"It isn't there fault, you know." Superman sighed.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Maybe we could have done something if we'd known about it sooner." He growled.

"We would have had the same information as the kids, maybe even less. There would have been nothing we could have done differently than them." Diana explained, walking forward, placing her hand on Batman's shoulder. The man stopped working and turned to face her. She reached up and pulled the cowl off of his head, taking it as a good and bad sign when he didn't protest. Normally he would never allow such a thing.

She noticed his eyes were tightly shut, as if he were trying to calm himself. Opening them once more, the others could see that they held exhaustion in their icy blue depths. "We're going to get them back, Bruce." Clark tried to reassure him.

Bruce sighed. "I lost him once. I don't think I can lose him again."

* * *

 **The Underground**

 **Two hours later**

Robin groaned as he cracked open his eyes and gazed around the room. He grit his teeth and curled his fingers into a fist. _Where is he? Where's that freak?!_ He snarled to himself. But before he could make an attempt at standing, he felt a searing heat in the back of his mind.

He let out a gasp of pain as he curled into a ball and tried to reign in the emotions that swirled around him. It felt as if his brain were splintering as he tried to piece everything together. It was hot. Everything was on fire...or was it freezing cold. Robin couldn't tell as his body began to shake as his mind started crumbling. _Danny...I..have to fight him...No...that isn't right...Something isn't right here...Vlad...master...no..._

Images of Danny and the Titans flashed into his mind. Memories of laughter, movie nights, video games, fighting back to back. The images slowly started to push out all the negative emotions of fighting the Titans, of fighting Danny, of training with Vlad for years. _No...that's not real...it's not...they're my friends...my...my family!_

He gasped as his eyes shot open, icy blue eyes shining through behind his mask, the heat quickly melting away, taking the anger and fury with it. He groaned and pushed himself up onto his knees. As he looked down at himself he realized he was covered in bruises and cuts. "What the heck happened?" He asked himself.

But before he could make another move, he was bowled over by a large blur, the two masses tumbling around on the floor until the blur ended up on top, pinning Robin to the ground. Danny narrowed his eyes as he kept Robin under his grip, the boy struggling in his grasp nonetheless.

"Danny! What the heck do you think you're doing?"

"Not getting beat up again, that's what!" The boy shot back as he glared daggers at the boy.

Robin furrowed his brow in confusion, shaking his head. "Look Danny, I don't know what happened, but it's me! Let me up!" He shouted.

But Danny merely tightened his grip. "Okay sure. but if you're really Robin, then tell me something only right-minded Robin would know." He growled.

Robin scoffed. "Fine. I know that during the summer you were turned into a shish kabob while fighting Slade and you nearly gave me a heart attack, you idiot. Now let me up or I swear I'm going to kick your ass all the way back to Gotham!" He shouted.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Only Robin sounds that much like Robin." He sighed as he moved off of the boy, slumping back against the back wall, letting out a hiss of pain as his injuries flared. Robin furrowed his brow as he scrambled to his feet and moved closer to Danny. "Danny, what happened?" He asked as he noticed the slashes across the boy's body as well as a blood stain from the stab wound in his side.

Danny scoffed slightly. "You happened." He mumbled.

Robin froze and gazed back up at the boy. "What are you talking about?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

Danny sighed. "Right, you probably wouldn't remember."

"Alright, you better start explaining, D."

"That serum Vlad gave you. It...did something to your mind. You were yourself...but...you also...weren't. It was like the serum only affected a part of you, the part that processed me and the Titans. Like all those memories were replaced with others, others that made it out that _we_ were the villains you were supposed to be fighting." He explained, Robin listening intently, never taking his eyes off of the boy.

"Once the serum took control of you...well...let's just say Batman knows what he's doing when he teaches." He sighed with a small smirk.

Robin let out a shocked breath as he placed his head in his hands. "God Danny. I'm...I'm so, so sorry...I_" He stuttered, only for Danny to grab onto his shoulder. "Robin, don't you dare apologize. I know exactly how it feels to do terrible things and have no control, no recollection of even doing them. I know it feels horrible, but you couldn't do anything about it." He explained.

Robin sighed and lowered his gaze, shoulders slumping. Danny opened his mouth, then let the air escape as he shut it once more, knowing there was little to ease Robin's troubles, remembering when he felt the exact same way once he had been freed from his own mind-controlled prison.

The two boys scooted back to sit up against the wall. Silence engulfed the cell as the two rested, at least until Robin jolted up, a fearful thought crossing into his mind. "Wait a minute. Didn't Vlad say the serum was a dry run?" He asked.

Danny's eyes popped open as he gasped and sat up, turning back to Robin. "Meaning he has more."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "And he's waiting to use it on us, both of us. Meaning neither of us will be able to stop the other."

"Question is..." Danny stated. "Who's he gonna sick us on?"

* * *

 **Sorry for the short chapter, but I really wanted to get this chapter out before I start this SUPER busy weekend. THe next three weekends will be really busy cause I have three consecutive softball tournaments.**

 **So I wanted to give you all something to read to get rid of that nasty cliffhanger.**

 **Anyway, what will happen next for our two favorite raven heads?**

 **Find out next on The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions**


	17. Chapter 17: Corruption

**Chapter 17: Corruption**

* * *

 **The Underground**

 **Five hours later**

A tingling sensation shot up his spine, jolting Danny awake, the boy sitting up with a gasp at the sudden burst of energy. Unknown to him, his eyes were now glowing a vibrant green as he stared down at his hands, which seemed to spark with energy.

Narrowing his eyes, he extended his palm and reached into his core, a smile spreading onto his face as a pure white crystal formed from his fingertips, frost covering his palm once more.

He chuckled and glared out past the cell. "Finally." He growled to himself, careful not to wake Robin, who slept quietly in the corner of the room. "Now things are finally evening out." He growled out to nobody in particular.

 _"I'm sure that's what you think, isn't it Little Badger?"_

A chill ran up Danny's spine once more. But not one of power, no...quite the opposite actually. Instead it was one of fear.

Whipping his head up, his eyes met those of Vlad's, growing crimson in satisfactory. He curled his fists at the smug look on his face. "How has your stay been, Daniel?" The man asked, leaning against the back wall as he crossed his arms.

Danny glanced towards Robin before standing up from the floor of the cell and walking over to the glass wall. "It's been fine. But the company's rotten." He growled, glaring back at the billionaire.

Vlad pouted in mock sadness. "Do you mean my new friends. I must say, Daniel. That does hurt." He grinned.

Danny narrowed his eyes and growled. "Just wait, Vlad. Now that the effects from those stupid cuffs of yours have finally worn off, I'll really get to let you know what I think of your new friends." He smirked, trying not to show the fear on his face when Vlad chuckled.

"Yes, yes. I've been expecting this." He said with a sigh as he walked closer to the glass panel. "but the thing is, Daniel. You are not going to be using those powers of yours for a while."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "And what makes you think that?" He growled.

Vlad shrugged. "Well the choice is really up to you." He said as he began to turn away and walk down the hallway. "I just thought you cared more about that friend of yours." He threw over his shoulder, the sentence making Danny's stomach clench up tightly, the thumping in his heart moving to his ears.

"What?" He called, relieved and frightened at the same time as Vlad turned around and walked back, a smile on his face.

"Well I'm just saying. If you use your powers, then I guess that means we'll be allowed to use our powers to the fullest extent on your little friend, if only to even the score." He explained.

Danny's eyes widened before they began glowing in fiery rage as he slammed his palms into the glass, wishing nothing more but to fire multiple ecto-blasts right into Vlad's half-burnt face and finish the rest off. "Don't you DARE touch him!" He snarled in fury.

But Vlad didn't even seemed phased by the boy's rage. "It's your choice, Daniel. Fight back with your powers and we'll take out our frustrations on the boy when we come to collect you two, or stay quiet with your head down and we'll leave him be...for the most part." He muttered under his breath, a note Danny still caught, nonetheless.

Danny narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists before letting out a sigh as he slumped against the back wall and hung his head. "Fine." He whispered.

Vlad smirked. "Smart boy." He said as he turned to leave, throwing one more thing over his shoulder. "Oh, and let's not mention this little conversation to the boy, 'ey Little Badger?" He said, letting out a chuckle as he disappeared down the hallway.

Danny's eyes glowed momentarily before dying back down as he slumped against the back wall and slid down, hugging his knees tightly as he lowered his head and tried to figure out how they would ever begin to get away from the situation.

* * *

 **One hour later**

The dull glow of a nearby light made Robin crack open his eyes and glance around the cell. His eyes widened as he straightened when he was Danny sitting in the corner of the cell, green energy gently flicking from finger to finger.

"Danny! Your powers are back?" He asked excitedly.

The boy jumped, obviously not expecting Robin to awaken, and he wasn't sure, but Robin almost thought he saw Danny curse under his breath. Nevertheless, the boy nodded his head.

Robin chuckled and placed a hand to his forehead. "This is great! Now we might actually have a chance of getting out of here!" He exclaimed, the joy on his face contorting into confusion and worry when he noticed that Danny didn't share in his revelry. In fact, the boy seemed...scared.

Robin gasped and whipped his head up at the sound of buttons being pressed, Danny doing the same beside him. They both watched as Vlad punched in a series of commands into the metallic box, The Fright Knight, Spectra and Vortex patiently waiting behind him.

The two boys quickly jumped to their feet and pressed their backs against the wall behind them as they watched the glass panel slid down into the floor. "Well...I'd say you two have had plenty of time to rest and recover. Wasn't that such a fun experience?" Vlad asked with a smirk.

Robin narrowed his eyes. "Can't say we really enjoyed it." He growled as he clenched his fists and moved his gaze over to the discarded weapons over to the side of the cell. He tensed his muscles as he readied himself to leap for them, only to feel Danny's hand wrap around his wrist. Glancing over, he saw the boy shake his head.

"So tell us, Vlad. What _exactly_ does that serum do?" Danny asked, dropping Robin's wrist.

Vlad grinned. "Do you like it? I have to admit, it was a bit of a pain getting the right ingredients for the serum, but so worth it in the end. As you've probably figured out, the serum almost acts like a mind control. Only, instead of turning the victim into a drooling, mindless mess, it only warps and twists their minds enough to give the user control." He explained.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "So we would still be ourselves...the same habits, same traits...only we'd be-"

"-completely loyal to me." Vlad finished.

Robin grit his teeth. "If you think we're actually going to let you use that thing on us, you have another thing coming!" He growled.

Vlad chuckled. "Oh, you act as if you have a say in the matter." He sighed as he motioned his head towards them, the three ghosts surging forward. The boys gasped as they were forcefully grabbed and hauled out of the cell. "Let us go!" Robin snarled as he tried to rip himself free.

Glancing towards Danny, Robin was shocked to see that the boy wasn't fighting back, he merely kept his head lowered as the ghosts pushed him forward. "Danny! What are you doing?! Use your powers!" He shouted.

Danny raised his head and sighed, a look of defeat evident on his face. "I...I can't." He breathed.

" _Can't_ or _won't_?!" Robin snarled.

Danny glared back at him. "I can't. I WON'T!"

Robin grit his teeth and kicked with his back leg, shocking Spectra enough that she lost her grip on the boy. Rolling away, Robin turned to face Vlad, a smug expression plastered onto the man's face. It only made him angrier.

But before he could lunge for the man, he was bowled over by a black and white blur. Tumbling across the floor, Robin growled as he tried to break free. Glancing up at his attacker, he gasped as he saw Danny's angered face. "Don't!" The boy shouted.

Robin clenched his fists as he punched the boy in the jaw, the action sending Danny reeling as the two scrambled back to their feet. "Why are you protecting them?!" Robin snarled.

Danny gingerly rubbed his jaw and glared back at Robin, eyes glowing a fiery green. "I'm not protecting them, I'm protecting you!" He shouted.

Robin furrowed his brow in confusion, only to gasp as Vortex flew forward and grabbed onto Danny's shoulder, sending a current of lightning coursing through the him, the boy letting out a scream of pain before crumpling to the floor.

"Danny!" Robin shouted, only to feel a hard hit to the back of the neck, vision blackening as he hit the ground.

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **6:35 a.m.**

Sam sighed as she placed a hand to her head and shut her eyes, waves of exhaustion rolling off of her. Turning her head, she watched as members of both teams milled about the tower, either typing away at computers, going over scattered papers or whispering furiously to each other.

She let out a small groan as she dropped her head into her hands. She hadn't felt this hopeless since Danny had been captured by the GIW. _How could we let this happen again?_ She asked herself angrily as she shook her head.

Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Flash hovering over her, throwing her a soft smile. Letting out a sigh, she turned her head to stare out at the large expanse of emptiness that stretched out across the sky, billions and billions of white droplets scattered throughout the void.

Across the room, the elevator doors slid open as Batman stalked through, J'onn close behind. After failing to make mental contact with the boys, they were starting to run out of options. Walking over to Hawkgirl's station, Batman placed a hand on the back of the chair as he leaned forward. "What have you found?" He growled out.

Hawkgirl cast him a sideways glance, then turned back towards the monitor, oblivious that everyone else in the tower was anxiously awaiting her answer. "Nothing good. That name that Robin gave, _Alas,_ well...it's hard to tell whether he even finished what he was saying or not. But he could have been talking about the city, Alas."

The tower was silent as they all listened to Hawkgirl's information, dread setting in their stomachs as she continued. "Alas isn't just a single city. It's the name of multiple cities in multiple countries, including Indonesia, India, Turkey, Uganda and the Philippines."

"But it could also be the start of words like Alasa, which is a city in Cyprus, Alasaj in Russia, or Alaska in the U.S." She explained.

Batman narrowed his eyes and turned towards Sam, Tucker and Jazz. "Do any of those seem like somewhere Vlad would be?" He asked.

Sam furrowed her brow, then shook her head. "No. Normally, he would never go anywhere he wasn't comfortable. But Robin did say that Vlad's new base was unlike the others. Maybe that meant location as well." She explained.

Batman let out a growl as he tried to figure out how to go about the situation. Finally, he raised his head and turned to the kids, as well as the other members of the League. "We're going to have to split up." He finally voiced, the others glancing to him in confusion.

"With all the possibilities of where they might be, we'll have to cover as much ground as possible if we want to have a chance of finding them." He explained. Superman nodded and flew forward, turning to the teens. "While we scope out the other territories, you all should try and see if you find anything near Alaska. If not, contact us and we'll regroup with the information gathered." He stated.

The Titans glanced at each other for a moment before nodding to themselves. "Alright. At least it's a start." Cyborg sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Superman flew forward and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know you kids are worried about your friends. But you shouldn't worry. We'll do everything we can to make sure they get home safe." He explained, the Titans giving him doubtful looks as they turned away.

Batman narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh, soundlessly stalking back out of the room, silently hoping and praying to whatever forces he could think of that his son was alright...if he was even still alive.

* * *

 **The Labs**

Danny watched with narrowed his eyes as Vlad and the others milled around the room, whispering quietly to each other as they mixed different liquids. He shifted his wrists, the restraints digging into his skin once more. Glancing over to the side, he saw that Robin was experiencing the same pain as he grunted and pulled against the cuffs.

Nevertheless, the restraints held fast as the two boys stayed stuck to the tables. Turning back to watch the others, Danny felt fear and dread mix together in his stomach as he watched Spectra reach down into the lower cabinets and pull out a tray containing dozens of empty syringes.

One by one, each syringe was filled with the same green liquid that the others had been mixing before. Vlad tapped the side of one of the syringes before walking over to the boys. Danny tried swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in his throat, only to feel it get bigger as the man stopped in front of him.

Robin growled as he watched Vlad advance closer, the man letting out a chuckle as he turned to the masked boy. "Don't worry, lad. This time, he'll get to join you in the fun." He said with a grin as he roughly grabbed the side of Danny's head and turned it, the boy letting out a pained breath as he tried to remain calm. Lowering the syringe, Vlad injected the serum into the boy's neck, Danny letting out a groan of pain.

"Fun fact, we discovered that the effects work faster and better when the injection site is closer to the brain." Vlad said calmly as he walked back over to the table and grabbed a second syringe, repeating the process to Robin.

"There, you see? All done." He chuckled as he placed the empty syringe back down onto the table. He watched as The Fright Knight and Vortex undid the restraints that held the two up, the boys landing hard on the ground.

Danny raised his head and glared up at Vlad, the man narrowing his eyes as he passed a silent message to the boy. Danny shut his eyes tightly before letting out a defeated sigh as he hung his head. Robin watched as Danny lowered his head, turning his gaze to Vlad, watching as the man gave a chuckle. The Boy Wonder clenched his fists in anger as he tried to understand what had happened between his brother and their captor.

As they were hauled to their feet, Danny cast a fearful look towards Robin, silently willing the boy not to attack. Robin narrowed his eyes and kept his gaze focused on the ground. Whatever had passed between the two halfas, Robin knew he was somewhere in the middle, and the last thing he wanted was to put Danny in harm's way.

So as painful as it was, he held his tongue and kept his fists to himself as they were shoved down the corridor and back into their cells. Letting out a growl as he dusted himself off, Robin glared through the glass panel at the ghosts as they floated back down the hallway. Vlad glanced down at his wrist and back at the boy. "Shouldn't be too long now." He chuckled as he walked away.

Robin felt a growl form in the back of his throat as he turned away, eyes widening slightly as he noticed Danny, who's back was against the far wall, knees tucked up close as his arms hugged them, head resting gently on top. Robin's eyes softened as he walked over and took a seat next to him.

"I'm sorry, Robin. I'm so sorry." Danny sighed as he glanced back up. "I wanted to fight just as much as you did, but..." He trailed off. Robin leaned closer. "But what?" He asked softly. Danny shut his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not supposed to say." He whispered softly.

Robin furrowed his brow. "Vlad made you do this. I don't know how, but it must have been something serious to make you stand down like that." He placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Look, don't tell me if it's going to put us in danger, but-"

"He threatened you."

"What?"

"He threatened you, Robin. That's why I couldn't fight back. Because if I did, then they were going to hurt you." Danny explained, turning sharply to glance at the boy. Robin blinked for a moment, trying to comprehend what the boy had said before shaking his head. "Danny...just because they threatened me doesn't mean you should-"

"Well what was I supposed to do, Robin? You don't know these ghosts like I do. If I _had_ fought back, they would have _killed you!"_ He shouted, quickly standing up. Robin narrowed his eyes and stood as well. "What makes you so certain?" He growled.

Danny grit his teeth. "Trust me. They would have crushed you."

Robin clenched his fists. "I can take care of myself, Danny."

"Not against them you can't" The boy snarled back. "But hey, if you want to fight them so bad, maybe next time, I'll just sit back and watch if that's what you want!" He growled, crossing his arms.

"You know what I want, Danny!"

"Really? Cause right now it sounds like you want to die!"

As the two boys fought with each other, neither seemed to notice the dull glowing underneath their skin around the injection site, at least not until the burning started. Danny gasped and clutched his neck as his back hit the wall. It felt as if white hot claws had dug themselves into his neck and were tearing and ripping it apart.

He gasped for air as he fell to his knees, the world spinning around and around as he tried not to hurl. The fire had now spread out to the rest of his body, his muscles screamed and his bones splintered. His blood bubbles as the heat began to move into his brain. He vaguely made out Robin enduring the same pain across the room, but he could barely focus on breathing as the pain continued.

He let out a howl of pain as his back hit the floor, his mind beginning to shatter as claws dug in and ripped things out while shoving others in. His back arched off of the floor as he gave another shout. He convulsed, pained gasps escaping his lips at he tried to suck in a breath.

It felt as if the whole room were on fire. Danny could feel a bead of sweat roll down the side of his head as he clenched his fists. Finally, the burning sensation began to die down. Danny let out a pained gasp as he finally began to gulp down as much air as he could.

His head fell back against the cold cement as his body shook. Waves of exhaustion rolled off of him as the room began to fade, his mind going with it, but not before thinking one last thought.

 _Must help Mr. Masters..._

* * *

 ** _Alright, alright, you probably know the shtick by now but nevertheless...I'm SORRY!_**

 ** _As you've probably guessed, I had a super super busy couple weekends and for some reason I couldn't really get started on this chapter as easily as the others. Things weren't really clicking for me._**

 ** _But since it is Thanksgiving break, I knew it was now of never to get this chapter out cause school is just a nightmare. So I hope you all enjoy and wish me luck at my aunt's house tomorrow._**

 ** _HAPPY TURKEY DAY!_**

 ** _Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter of The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions._**


	18. Chapter 18: His

**Chapter 18: His**

 _The world slowly came into focus as Danny turned his head, bright colors quickly seeping in, staining the sky until he was standing outside Titans Tower, near an obstacle course. The other Titans were crowding around him, smiles on their faces as they congratulated him, while Cyborg stood a few feet away, jaw open in shock._

 _Suddenly, a bead of sweat rolled down Danny's forehead as the temperature began to rise. He closed his eyes and coughed, gasping as he realized he could no longer breath. Opening his eyes once more, he could see fire and ash swirling through the air, the vision in front of him burning and fading away, to be replaced with another. This one had Danny sitting on a couch in Titans Tower, the others watching a movie beside him. Once again, the same process occurred, the fire swirled around him before burning the memory._

 _This process happened again and again with different scenes,_

 _...watching Cyborg chase Beastboy down the hallway, spare parts in hand,_

 _...flying with Starfire through the sky,_

 _...the real life video game experience with Beastboy,_

 _...running from Raven,_

 _...fighting alongside Tucker,_

 _...talking with Jazz,_

 _...kissing Sam._

 _One by one all of the memories burned and disappeared._

 _Danny gasped as he tried to comprehend what was happening. Suddenly, a loud cackling filled the air as a shooting pain rocketed throgh his mind. He gasped in pain and fell to his knees, the ground shattering underneath him as he was left floating in empty air. Two pairs of glowing red eyes blinked open in the darkness before him, along with a wicked smile as the laughing grew louder._

 _Danny's eyes widened in fear as a 50 ft Vlad appeared, eyes glowing, lips curled into an evil grin. He cackled once more as his hands lit with energy. He screamed as a large pink blast shot towards him._

* * *

His eyes shot open as pained breaths filled his lungs. The last traced of his dream dissipated as he glanced around the room in confusion. It was a simple room. One large window lay on the wall next to his bed, thick black curtains hanging dead against the cold glass. Across from him sat a large dresser, and a small nightstand stood beside him.

Danny groaned and placed a hand to his head, trying to remember the last thing that had happened, but no such memories would come to his mind. He shook his head and grabbed the bed sheets. Glancing down, he realized he was in human form and that his clothes were no longer a mess. Raising his head, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked over to the large window.

Placing a hand on the cool glass, he gazed down at the large forest that stretched beyond the old house. The soft winter breeze could be seen as the trees swayed in beat to it, the light gray clouds rolling softly overhead.

He furrowed his brow. Why did it feel like the scene was familiar and new at the same time?

"Feeling better, are we?"

Danny spun around to face Vlad as the man walked into the room silently. Danny felt a chill run up his spin, but he couldn't understand why, so he merely sighed and placed a hand to his chest. "Mr. Masters, you nearly sent me into the roof." He chuckled. Vlad smiled. "My apologies. I do hope you are feeling alright."

Danny furrowed his brow. "I feel fine, just a bit confused on what happened. I don't remember anything." he explained.

Vlad nodded. "Yes, that is to be expected. That was a nasty hit you two took. Well, let's just say there was a bit of a mishap down in the labs, but the effects should be wearing off. Are you sure you feel alright?" He asked.

Danny nodded. "Yes, sir. I feel fine. But...where's Robin?" He asked, tilting his head.

Vlad motioned towards the door. "He's in his room. You may visit him if you wish."

Danny smiled. "Thank you, sir." He breathed as he nodded his head and walked out the door, never noticing the way Vlad's lips curled up into a wicked smile as he mouthed the word, " _F_ _inally._ "

Entering the hallway, Danny glanced around and noticed that it didn't really seem to have any other rooms, apart from Danny's, Robin's and a few guest bedrooms. Farther down the hallway, it extended out into a balcony that he could only assumed overlooked the rest of the house.

Danny groaned as his head began to throb, thinking of the house and its layout, almost as if his brain didn't want to remember it. Shaking it off, he walked forward, towards the door across from his. "Robin?" He called, knocking softly on the door. After waiting patiently for a few moments, Danny tried the doorknob, the soft squeak of the hinges the only sound as the door was pushed open.

Inside, the room seemed similar to his own. The color was faded and dull and the curtains stood silent against the glass window. The floorboards creaked and whined whenever stepped upon and a sense of foreboding settled over the room.

Glancing towards the back of the room, Danny could make out Robin as he stirred in the bed and slowly sat up. Walking over, Danny placed a hand onto the boy's shoulder. "You good?" He asked as he watched Robin groan and rub his head. "Not really sure. What happened?" He asked.

Danny shrugged. "Apparently there was an explosion in the lab and we took the brunt of it. But Vlad said the effects should be wearing off now." Danny explained. Robin nodded his head and moved to get out of the bed and followed Danny out of the room.

Out in the hallway, they watched Vlad walk down the corridor, turning his head towards them. "Whenever you two are ready, meet the others and I in the Conference Room." He said before turning down another hallway.

Walking along the same path, the boys noticed that the hallway extended out into a balcony that overlooked the rest of the house. As Danny had _remembered_ before, the outside of the house looked nothing like the inside. Instead, it was polished and sleek, the front corridor leading to a large grand staircase that broke off into two directions, leading to another separate hallway on the other side of the balcony.

Downstairs, the door next to the stairs could only be assumed the kitchen. As the boys walked down the large stairs, they noticed a large bookshelf off to the side. Walking over, Danny automatically reached up and pulled the book on the third shelf, second from the left. Suddenly, the large bookcase creaked and shifted, revealing a shining elevator behind it.

Robin glanced at him in confusion. "How did you know which book it was?" He asked.

Danny paused for a moment then shrugged as well. "I have no clue." He confessed.

Robin furrowed his brow as the two entered the elevator. "That reminds me. I don't know about you, but something really seems...off. It's like I remember things I didn't used to know before." He explained. "But I know that can't be right, because I remember almost everything about this place."

Danny nodded. "Yeah. I remember opening presents last Christmas with you and Vlad."

"And I remember hanging out with the others ghosts during the summer." Robin continued as he glanced back at Danny. "But for some reason...it all feels-"

"Fake"

* * *

Vlad folded his arms behind his back as he entered the room, the assortment of ghosts quieting down as he did, the main six ghosts along with the trainees, consisting of Skulker, Ember, Walker, Desiree, Johnny 13, Shadow and Lydia.

"Well, Masters? Did it work?" Spectra asked harshly as she stood up from her seat around the table.

Vlad smirked. "Oh, it worked perfectly. they don't remember anything except for the memories we implanted." He explained.

The ghosts in the room grinned and murmured excitedly.

"But that also means you will not be allowed to engage the two, under any circumstances." Vlad continued.

Everyone groaned and growled in annoyance. "You expect us to get along with the little brats?" Johnny snarled angrily, his shadow flickering in anger at the statement.

Skulker raised his arm, a large glowing blade extending out. "How can you expect us not to attack that little Whelp? Especially after everything he's done to us?" He growled angrily, a chorus of agreements sounding around the room.

Vlad glanced towards the Fright Knight and nodded, the ghost rising to his feet as he glared out at the others, who quickly quieted down at the Knight's movement. Vlad cleared his throat and explained himself. "In order to have the boys trust you all, we had to implant them with memories where you all get along with them. So for the time being, you all will have to play nice and befriend them."

Vlad swore the groan that followed could be heard all the way from Wisconsin. He rolled his ayes and faced the others once more. "Think of it this way. Whoever gains their trust the most gets the satisfaction of crushing them the most emotionally when we finally turn on them after this is all over and the world in in our grasp." He explained.

That seemed to at least calm the others down.

"But for now, I suggest you all suck it up...and quiet down. I hear them coming!" Vlad snarled.

The room quieted down slightly, staying at a casual volume as the two boys entered.

* * *

Danny smiled slightly as he saw the other ghosts casually floating around the room. At least his friends were normal.

Ember and Johnny saw him and floated over. Danny might have imagined it, but he could have sworn he was them grimace before flying over. "Hey, squirt. You guys good?" Johnny asked with a smirk as he ruffled the kid's hair. Danny smiled back. "Yeah, just a little disoriented, that's all."

"Well that mishap probably rattled what little brain you have left." Ember joked, earning a playful punch in the arm from Danny as they walked past. Once again, Danny swore he heard something that shouldn't be true.

" _Ugg. That was painful."_

 _"I know."_

As the two walked farther into the room, the other ghosts stopped to say hi before floating out of the room, leaving only Vlad and the Order. The black-suited man stepped forward and frowned slightly. "Are you sure you two are alright?" He asked.

Robin nodded. "Yes, sir. We're fine. Promise."

Vlad nodded and placed his hands on the boys' shoulders, guiding them to the table, where the others were seated. He cast a glance towards the boys and smirked slightly before clearing his throat. "Then we should get back to the topic at hand."

"The Teen Titans."

At the mention of the name, Danny felt his blood start to boil. He curled his fists and grit his teeth. For some reason, he felt nothing but hatred at the mention of their name, but he couldn't understand why. Beside him, he could see Robin having a similar reaction.

"I have a feeling those menaces are close to finding our base." He explained.

"Let them come." Robin growled as he crossed his arms. "Then we can teach them a lesson about never coming back again." he smirked.

Vlad grinned. "You always seem to read my mind child."

The man turned back to the table of ghosts. "If and when they do show up, I want to make sure they get the message that we are not a force to be reckoned with." He explained. Danny and Robin turned to each other and smiled.

"That is all." Vlad said as he turned away and promptly walked out of the room. The ghosts stood from their seats and floated out of the room as well. Danny and Robin turned to each other, confused looks on their faces. "Hey, does your head hurt. Like...really bad?" Danny asked.

Robin nodded. "Yeah, it happens whenever I try to remember something. Maybe we should go talk to Vlad about it."

The two boys turned towards the door as they tried to remember where their mentor's room was located, the thought creating another migraine.

* * *

Vlad opened the door to his room to see Spectra leaning against one of the walls. Vlad smirked. "Not that I'm not flattered, but I'm not really in the mood."

Spectra curled her lip at him. "You wish, psycho." She growled as he began to walk towards him. "I'm here to talk about those two. That serum doesn't seem to be working 100%. I can still feel the confusion around them. Almost as if they're right on the edge. They have all the right emotions we need them to have, but none of the actual memories that cause them." She explained.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Of course not. That's why we'll need to continue the serum dosages. We'll just tell them that it will help erase the effects from that 'accident'" He explained to her.

She raised a brow. "You sure it will be enough?"

Vlad nodded. "The added dosages will build onto the ones already in their system, building upon the memories it has already planted. Right now, those false memories are just little seedlings. But with every new dosage, they will fester and grow into large trees of anger and hatred towards whatever we want them to."

He walked towards the door. "But for now, any questions they have, I'll answer in the way their memories will evolve into." He explained as he opened the door and motioned towards it. "Now if you don't mind."

Spectra rolled her eyes and disappeared in a wisp of black smoke.

He shut the door and walked over to the window, placing his hands on the windowsill as he looked out over the rolling green ocean of treetops. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. So far, everything was going according to plan. Two boys had no idea of...

He paused. Right now, Danny didn't see him as a monster, as an enemy. He saw him as a friend, a mentor, a father. That was everything Vlad had ever wanted. It was his dream. So...why wasn't he happy. _Because they're not really yours_. A voice in the back of his mind taunted. He growled and shut his eyes tighter, but deep down, he knew it was right.

He could inject the boys with every ounce of serum he had, but it still wound't be enough. It wound never be enough. They would always still be themselves deep down. The same kids that hated him, feared him, loathed him. Deep down, they would never truly belong with him.

He sighed and rested his head on the cold glass, only to have his eyes fly open in anger at a knock on his door.

"Spectra, I swear I'm going to-" He shouted as he stalked over, only to pause as he opened the door and noticed not a shadowed women, but to teenage boys staring up at him expectantly. "So sorry do disturb you, sir. But we have a bit of a problem." Danny confessed.

Vlad smiled warmly and stepped aside, allowing them in. "No trouble at all, boys. Come." He said as he led them in, where they took seats in the chairs that sat opposite the large master bed. Vlad propped himself against the footboard near the end of the bed, facing the two boys as they sat down. "What's the problem?" He asked.

Robin glanced over to Danny before facing Vlad. "We've been having momentary migraines at the most random times, mostly whenever we try to remember anything, and we can't seem to really be able to remember-" He started, only for Vlad to sigh and shake his head.

"Oh, I thought this might happen." He sighed.

"Sir?" Danny asked.

"Don't fret boys, but this is merely one of the side effects of the accident down in the labs. Temporary loss of long-term memories." He explained.

The boys glanced at each other before turning back to Vlad. "Well...then do you think you can help us piece together some of the foggy memories?" Robin asked. Vlad smiled. "Of course I can. Ask away."

Robin nodded. "Alright, well I know you mentioned the Titans before, and as soon as you did I got really angry...but I don't know why." Robin explained.

Vlad folded his arms. "Well you should be angry. Everyone in this house should be angry whenever their putrid names are spoken." He growled, delving into further detail when he received confused looks from the boys. "You see, kids...we've been living in this house for some time now, us and the ghosts." He explained. "But there are some who see us as dangerous, merely because of what _we_ are-" he motioned towards Danny and himself, "-and for what our friends are."

"They want us destroyed and imprisoned. They want to separate us and they are willing to lie, cheat, steal and murder to get what they want, and I just simply cannot allow it." He explained. "So we have to try our hardest to stop those menaces. Because if we don't...who will?" He explained to the boys, watching as their faces changed from confusion to sadness to anger.

"And they call us monsters." Danny growled.

Robin furrowed his brow and glanced back up. "Speaking of the ghosts, how come they hang around here all the time?" Robin asked.

Vlad smiled. "Those ghosts have known you two since you were little. They love hanging around if it means staying close to you two. But they also need places to hide sometimes with those Titans get too close for comfort." He explained

Danny nodded, then began to rub the back of his neck. "Okay, well I know this might sound strange...but do you think you could explain how I...got here. I mean, I know I had a family before this...but something happened...I think."

Vlad sighed and lowered his gaze. "Yes. Yes you did have a family before this. If you can even call it that. Let me explain something to you, Danny. Your powers are unique. You were gifted with them the day you were born. Only...your parents never knew about them. Now...your parents weren't the most normal of people. They...they were ghost hunters." He explained, Danny listening intently.

"Once you were old enough to comprehend it, your powers emerged for teh first time. You were probably six, seven years old. but even at that age, you were smart enough to hide it from your parents."

Danny felt something in the pit of his stomach churn.

"One day...you were probably around nine...you decided to tell your parents about your powers. You didn't want to keep your powers a secret anymore. You wanted to tell them the truth. You wanted them to accept you. You needed them to accept you. You-" He faltered.

Danny felt his hands begin to start shaking.

"It didn't happen. You showed them what you were, what you could do, and they hated you for it. They wanted nothing to do with you. They were going to destroy you."

"Luckily, I grabbed you and escaped with you, flying as far away as i could, wrapping you in my arms. I had been a family friend for years, and one of the days I visited, I could sense something off about you. I saw you transform into Phantom. You didn't even know I was there."

"So I stayed close, making sure to keep an eye out for you in case something like that ever came to pass. Something I had hoped never would."

Vlad looked up to see tears slipping out of the corners of the boy's eyes. He walked over and knelt down in front of the boy. "But it doesn't matter what they think, Danny. Because they were wrong. And if they couldn't see what a wonderful son you were, well then it's their loss." He said with a small smile, wiping one of the tears away.

Danny glanced up and gave a small smile.

Vlad stepped back and turned to Robin. He opened his mouth, only to have Robin bat him to it. "I remember. I remember what happened to mine. I don't need to relive it." He sighed, hugging his arms. Vlad lowered his gaze. "Danny and I had been in the stands when it happened. Afterwards, when the police were still going over the scene, I flew to you and said I could take you aay from it all. I could make sure to never let you feel pain like that again. That I could protect you." he said gently.

"So you grabbed Danny's hand and I flew you both out of their." He explained.

The boys stayed quiet as they lowered their gazes. Vlad sighed and walked around the chairs, kneeling down next to them, his hands resting on their shoulders. "Listen, boys. Your beginnings may not be the best, but they don't matter anymore. Not when we have all of this. What's done is done and nothing can change that. We have no control over it. But we do have control on what happens now. And I know that as long as we stick together, we'll always be alright. Because you're _my_ boys." He said with a smile.

The boys glanced at each other before letting small smiles slip onto their faces as Vlad pulled them in for a gentle hug. And for a moment, a split second. Vlad forgot about all the lies. He forgot about all the hate, the betrayal, the deceit, and he focused instead on the two boys in his arms, wishing that everything he had just said were true. That they were really... _his_.

* * *

 **Not much to say other than sorry once again for the long delay but my work load isn't going to lighten up anytime soon so...**

 **oh well.**

 **Anyways, kudos to me for making Vlad seem like an actual human with an actual human heart and actual human emotions! To tell the truth, I actually love the last scene. So anyways, stay tuned for the next installment of...**

 **The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions**


	19. Chapter 19: Enemies?

**Chapter 19: Enemies...?**

* * *

 **Boreal Forest, Alaska**

 **5:37 p.m.**

"ROBBIIINNNN! DANN-"

"Would you shut it?!" Jazz hissed, slapping a hand over Beastboy's mouth. "I'd really rather not wake up the local bears. Besides, if Vlad is here and hears you yelling, he'll no doubtedly take drastic measures to make sure he isn't discovered. Measures he might inflict onto the boys." She growled.

Beastboy sighed as he wrapped his arms around himself, trying and failing to warm himself up. "Dudes, how long are we going to keep looking?" He asked as he stared up at the overcast sky, the hundred of trees that surrounded him making him feel claustrophobic, and that was only the amount he could see from the ground. He had resisted the urge to fly up and take in the sight of the millions and millions of trees that actually covered the area, knowing it would only depress him further.

"As long as it takes." Sam growled out, her boots crushing the leaves mercilessly as she walked.

Cyborg glanced at his arm and sighed. "My scanners aren't picking up anything ya'll."

Raven lowered her cloak. "And I haven't sensed either of the boys."

Starfire flew over. "But that does not mean you will not in the future." She said desperately. "We must keep looking. Our friends are out there and we must find them as quickly as possible. They need us." She glanced around at the others, realizing them must be tired and depressed, if they were feeling like her at all. But she also knew that the more time they waster, the more trouble the boys could be in. "Please." She whispered.

Cyborg glanced at her, then at the others around him. They all looked tired and upset, but he could see the determination that still stirred inside them. He sighed and turned back to Star. "Alright, we'll keep looking."

The alien sighed in relief before, flying back out to her original position.

Tucker rubbed his face underneath his glasses and turned to the others. "Listen, guys. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...mayhbe the boys aren't here. Maybe we're just going around in circles. Maybe-"

"Maybe you should shut it and keep walking." Sam snarled.

Tucker furrowed his brow and clenched his fist, walking up to the girl. "Hey, just because you're worried doesn't mean you have to act like a total jerk, alright?" He growled, only to feel the others begin to crowd around as well.

"Well then, let's listen to her! What, are you saying you want to just give up? You want to just leave them out here and forget about them? Is that it!?" Beastboy shouted, getting into Tucker's face, the hurt and pain evident in his face at the thought of Robin and Danny, the two boys he looked up to like brothers, hurt or...he couldn't even bring himself to think it.

Jazz pushed her way forward. "Nobody's saying that. But it's obvious we aren't making any progress here. What if they aren't even around this place? What if they're somewhere near the League. What if we're needed there?"

As the group's bicker began to fester into a full-blown argument, Raven stumbled back suddenly, clutching her head in pain. "Raven?" Sam asked as she rushed over and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, the others quickly moving closer. The sorceress glanced up at them, confusion in her gaze. "I...I think I just felt the boys. But...it was different. It was...angry." She said.

The others glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to Raven. "Well, what are you waiting for? Lead the way!" Cyborg shouted, excited that they were finally getting somewhere.

* * *

 **The Labs**

 **10 minutes earlier**

"If I may ask, sir..." Danny stated as he watched the green liquid be injected into his bloodstream. "What are these for exactly?"

Vlad smiled as he proceeded to do the same to Robin, who looked equally confused. "This, my boys, will help with those migraines and hopefully restore those lost memories of yours." He explained, mentally pleased that this time, the adjusted serum wouldn't make the boys loose consciousness. Not that it was needed. The serum didn't need to fracture their minds this time, only repair the cracks.

Neither of the boys noticed their eyes glow red for a brief moment before adjusting to the correct color. Suddenly, Hotep-Ra appeared in the doorway, turning to face Masters with a growl. "Those infernal Titans are sniffing around. And they're getting close."

Vlad smirked inwardly. Finally a chance to cement all the ideas he had planted in the boys' minds. But, to keep with the charade...

"Blast! I knew those wretched teens would come sneaking by sooner or later. I had just always hoped it would be the latter." He sighed, taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs, placing his face in his hands as he groaned.

Danny and Robin glanced at each other for a moment before walking over to Vlad. "Sir, what would you like us to do?" Robin asked, mentally praying for his master to send them out to fight those annoying little pests. Thankfully, Vlad lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. "Teach them to never come snooping by here again." He growled, the response making the two boys grin as they rushed out.

"Oh, and boys!" Vlad called, making them freeze in their tracks and glance back at him. "Remember, they'll say anything to make you doubt yourselves. Don't fall for any of their lies." He commanded, the boys nodding in understanding before racing towards the surface.

Once the two boys were gone, Vlad stood up and straightened his suit. Hotep-Ra walked forward. "What of the others?" he asked.

"Let the boys handle this themselves. If things start getting bad, we'll send some of the expendables. But I'd really rather watch the looks of horror on their friends' faces when they see exactly who their enemy really is." He said a loud cackle echoing off of the walls around them.

* * *

 **Masters' Mansion**

 **Present time**

Raven stopped and opened her eyes once more, staring up at the large structure in front of them, the other titans doing the same beside her. The house was large, almost large enough to be considered a mansion. But the exterior gave the impression that the house had not been lived in for some time.

The brick walls were crumbling and falling apart, stones littering the dead ground around teh house. Windows were cracked, and hinges were hanging limply, holding on to the hinges that kept them connected to the rest of the house. The roof seemed broken and dirty, giving a caved-in look, and moss was beginning to climb up the walls.

"Umm...are you sure this is the place, Rave?" Beastboy asked as he glanced skeptically up at the large building. "Doesn't really seem all that...Vlad." Tucker stated.

Sam narrowed her eyes as she glanced at the building and the surrounding area. "Robin did say this place was unlike any of Vlad's other places." She explained, Cyborg walking up to the large doors, grabbing onto the rusted handle. "Let's check the inside."

A gust of wind swirled around them as they entered, a feeling of dread immediately washing over them. Glancing around they noticed that around the room was completely dark, save for the light which spilled in through the open door, illuminating certain parts of the area.

Even with the limited lighting, they could tell the room was large. A grand staircase lay in front of them, leading to a balcony and the second floor. To the left, a dining room could be scene as well as a door that undoubtedly led to a kitchen. To the right of the stairs, a living room sat with a couch, two chairs and a large tapestry that hung dead on the wall over the quiet fireplace.

"Dudes, this place is mega creepy." Beastboy whispered, grabbing onto Starfire's arm.

As they scanned the area, none of them noticed the two figures poised overhead, eyes glowing a deadly crimson.

"Alright, we should probably start by scoping out the lower areas before moving on to the to-" Cyborg started, only for the door behind them to slam shut suddenly, startling the teens inside. Around the room, the different candles that sat on tables and stands began to explode to life, as well as the large fireplace, brightening the room enough to reveal two figures standing at the top of the stairs, their faces shrouded in shadows.

The Titans gasped at the sight of the two figures, who stood shoulder to shoulder, bodies frozen as they stared down at the newcomers, eyes glowing a slight red. The teens below them glanced at each other, each getting the same creeped out feeling as they watched the two unmoving figures. Shadows created from the flames around the house danced up and down the walls, adding to the fear.

Suddenly, Sam stepped forward as she gazed up at the two figures.

"Danny? Robin?"

At the sound of their names, the two boys leapt up from their spots and landed down at the base of the stairs, the Titans shifting backwards at the action. "Uhhh...guys? Is it really you?" Beastboy asked.

The two figures waited for a moment before stepping out of the shadows. One wore a black and white jumpsuit with a green _DP_ symbol on his chest, stark white hair shining bright against the dark background. The other wore a red and green suit with a yellow _R_ insignia marked on his chest as well as a utility belt of the same color. Neither of the two looked happy, which all of the Titans seemed to notice, except for Star.

"Robin! Danny!" She shouted in joy as she flew forward. "You are unharmed!" She said with a smile as she stretched her arms wide, expecting a hug from the two, only for Robin to pull his bo-staff out and whack her in the side, sending her flying backwards into the group once more, knocking them all down to the ground. "Can't say the same for you, though." Danny smirked.

Beastboy jumped up immediately, eyes furrowed into a snarl. "Dudes! What the heck was that for!? He shouted as the others stood back up, beginning to walk forward, only for Danny to shoot a warning shot at their feet.

"Get back!" He growled at them, his eyes glowing a dangerous green.

The others stared at the two with confused faces.

"Guys? What's the matter with you?" Cyborg asked.

"Why are you acting like this?" Jazz questioned.

"What's gotten into you?" Sam pleaded, running forward as she placed a hand on Danny's arm, only for him to sweep her legs and throw her backwards, Tucker catching her before she could hit the ground. "What are you freaks doing here!?" Robin snarled.

"What are we doing here? WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE!? Are you kidding me!" Beastboy shouted, waving his arms over his head.

Raven shook her head at the boy's antics and turned back to the two. "We can to rescue you. Remember? You sent us a message saying you were being held hostage." She explained, confused as to why they were being so hostile.

The two boys glanced at each other in confusion before turning back to the group. "What the heck are you talking about? Why on earth would we send a message to you?" Danny growled.

Starfire flew forward. "Because we are your friends. Why do you act this way?" She asked, her eyes beginning to water.

The two boys glanced at each other once more. "Okay...what kind of hallucinogens are you guys on?" Danny asked as he crossed his arms and gave the group a dirty look. The Titans stared at each other, jaws slack as they stared back at their friends.

"Boys, what's the matter with you?" Raven asked as she flew closer. Suddenly, she gripped her head and gasped as she was overcome with a sense of rage and fear. Turning back to the boys, she could sense that the emotions were coming from inside them, mingling with their normal emotions, masking and pulling them down.

Straightening back up again, she turned to the boys, concern evident in her eyes. "What did Vlad do to you?" She asked, the question making the other Titans gasp in realization.

The boys' eyes widened before their lips curled into snarls. "What are you taking about? Vlad hasn't done anything to us." Robin growled.

Jazz stepped forward. "Yes, he has. Can't you see? You aren't yourselves. You're sick. Vlad's made you sick!" She shouted, watching as the two got angrier and angrier. "Shut up! Vlad would never hurt us!" Danny shouted as he fired an ecto blast at the girl, who barely got out of the way of the attack.

Robin placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Remember what Vlad said. They'll do anything to make us doubt ourselves." He said quietly, but that didn't stop the others from hearing. "What!? You're taking orders from Vlad? That guy's a monster!" Beastboy shouted.

Danny curled his fists. "That's rich, coming from you all!" He snarled.

Raven narrowed her eyes and flew forward. "Boys, you have to come with us. You're not right in the head. He's messing with you." She pleaded, only to get hit in the chest with an ecto-blast, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Why should we believe you? Why should we believe any of you. You've been making our lives miserable for years!" Danny shouted, only for Beastboy to gape at him. "DUDE! We didn't even know you years ago!" He shouted in exasperation.

Robin twirled his staff and got into a defensive stance. "I don't care what you say. I'm not going to fall for your lies. Neither of us will. But I know for a fact that you guys are threatening everything we've built here, and I'm not about to let you take it all away from us!" He shouted as Danny lit his hands up with ecto-energy.

The Titans took a step back as they realized what was about to happen, and who they would really have to fight. "So if you want to get to Vlad and the other ghosts, you'll have to get past us." Danny snarled as the two surged forward, their eyes glowing a fiery scarlet.

* * *

Starfire gasped as Robin leapt at her, grabbing her arms as he threw her into the ground. "Hey!" Beastboy shouted as he jumped into the air and transformed into a pterodactyl and flew towards Robin, only to be blasted to the ground as Danny hovered over him.

Before the Ghost Boy could make another move, Cyborg tackled him to the ground, pushing him down into the cold tiles. "Come on, man! Snap out of it!" He shouted. Danny snarled at him, his eyes flashing red as he kicked up with his back legs and threw Cyborg into the air before jumping up himself and kicking the robot into Raven, sending the two crashing to the ground.

Suddenly, he felt a strong glowing rope wrap around his leg and yank him down to the ground. Glaring around, his eyes fell on Tucker, who was trying to drag the boy backwards. Instead, Danny looped backwards and dove towards the boy, ramming his fist into his chest, sending him tumbling backwards, the rope falling limply to the ground.

"Danny, stop!" Sam pleaded. "We're your friends!" She shouted, Jazz and Raven standing at her sides. Danny curled his fists. "LIES!" HE shouted as he hurled an ecto-blast at their feet, sending Sam and Jazz flying backwards, while Raven flew out of the way.

Danny watched as she stretched her magic forward, the black tendrils wrapping around his waist. "Danny, stop. We're only trying to help you." She explained calmly, only to get hit in the shoulder with Robin's staff, the force sending her careening into the nearby wall. The magic around Danny dissipated and he nimbly dropped to the floor, standing shoulder to shoulder with Robin once more.

As they watched the others begin to get back up on their feet, Danny flew up into the air and began to rain down a barrage of ecto-blasts on them, while Robin began to throw pellet after pellet at them, which exploded on impact as they came into contact with the shield Raven had conjured to repel the two attacks.

Cyborg stared at the two through the shield as the attack continued. "It wasn't like this before." He breathed. "Not when Danny was a wanted criminal, not even when Robin was working with Slade."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "It wasn't like this before. This time, they aren't holding back. And if they get the chance, they're going to kill us." She explained, the others gasping around her. Starfire flew forward, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No! It is a lie!" She shouted. "Robin would never..." She trailed off.

"But that's just it. That isn't Robin. And that isn't Danny." Jazz realized.

"But they're still in there. Somewhere. I can feel it." Raven said as her arms began to shake, the attacks starting to take a toll on her shield.

"Now!" Cyborg shouted as he raised his canon, the shield dropping right as he fired, the blast hitting the roof above the boys' heads. The bricks and cement rained down on them, burying them in a pile of dust and debris.

The Titans sighed and shut their eyes, realizing that saving their friends just became a lot more complicated. Suddenly, the pile began to rumble and shake as pieces of cement were dislodged. Finally, the pile exploded as a green light was seen. The two boys glared daggers at the team, their eyes shining brighter than before with their horrid blood-red color.

Cyborg stared at them with a pleading look in his eyes, taking a step forward. "Guys look. We don't want to fight you. We just want to help." He said right before Danny flew forward and rammed his shoulder into the teen's chest, sending him flying backwards. Beastboy turned his head back and snarled, transforming into a wolf as he lunged forward, only to taste steel as his teeth crunched down on Robin's staff.

The boy slammed his boot onto the animal's head, making him whimper as he stumbled backwards. "Please, stop!" Starfire cried as he watched Robin slide over to Raven, trying to land a punch as the girl used her magic, deflecting the punches and kicks. Suddenly, a bright green blast hit her in the side as Danny flew by. The force knocked her onto her knees, where Robin proceeded to slam his knee into her chin, sending her reeling.

But before Danny could take to the air again, a strong purple blast to the shoulder sent him skidding across the tiles. Glaring up, he saw Sam, her gloves still smoking from the blast. Beastboy groaned as he shook his head, running over to join the girl. "Danny, I don't want to hurt you." Sam whispered.

"But I want to hurt you!" The boy snarled, flying forward, only to have large claws rake across his face as the newly transformed Beastboy snarled at him, the large green bear growling menacingly. What he didn't expect was for Danny to let out a shout of pain as he held his head. The bear stopped and stared as he saw that what he had meant as a warning cut turned out to be a large gash on the side of Danny's head, starting from right above his ear and running through to the middle of his head. Blood seeped through Danny's fingers as he clutched his head.

Beastboy gasped and transformed back into himself, running over. "Danny?" He called in fear praying he hadn't hurt his friend too much. But he froze and gasped when he saw Danny raise his arm and fire a large blast at the boy's chest, sending him flying. Sam narrowed her eyes and rushed forward, sending punches and kicks towards the boy, who deflected and countered with his own attacks.

Suddenly, as he sent a fist toward the girl's face, he felt a strong kick to the back of his knees, which sent him crumbling to the floor. Glaring up, he saw Jazz staring down at him, worry evident in her gaze at the sight of the blood on his face, which was now seeping into his hair. He growled and flipped himself around ,sweeping Jazz's legs out from under her.

As the girl fell, he grabbed onto her shoulders and thrust her in Sam's direction, sending both girls tumbling to the ground. He stood back up, turning to find Robin, only to hear the crack of a whip. Turning back, he watched as Tucker ran over, wrapping his whip around his arm, eyes narrowed as he stared at the Ghost Boy.

Danny smirked as he flew into the air and charged.

Across the room, Robin was in a similar predicament. He snarled as the blast from Cyborg's canon hit the ground a few feet from him. Jumping into the air, he landed on the robot's shoulders and twisted around, slamming his feet into the teen's chest, sending him skidding across the floor.

Raven flew up and encased many of the chairs and pots around the room with her magic, hurling them in Robin's direction. The boy griped his staff and whacked the objects out of the air, sending one of the chairs in Raven's direction, the girl catching it with her magic before it could hit her. But that was enough of a distraction for Robin to kick her back down to the ground.

Rolling cross the floor, he felt teeth dug into the back of his suit and drag him back. He growled and glanced back to see a green lion pulling him across the floor, away from the downed sorceress. As Robin tried to free himself from the animal's grip, he caught a glimpse of Danny fighting and saw that there was blood dripping down the side of his face as well as off the tips of his white hair.

Robin clenched his fists and grit his teeth in anger at the sight. Rotating his shoulder, he slammed his elbow into the lion's nose, the animal roaring in pain as he dropped the boy and reverted back into his human form. Flipping himself around, Robin grabbed the boy's shoulders and threw him into an oncoming Cyborg, sending both flying.

Raven narrowed her eyes as she watched Robin take down the two boys. Flying forward once more, her hands began to light up with energy once more, only to gasp as Robin threw a pair of smoke bombs onto the floor, disappearing as the smoke covered the area, leaving her blind as she was surrounded by white.

Suddenly, she felt metal hit her shoulder, followed by an explosion as one of Robin's explosive disks made contact with her, sending her to the ground, the smoke instantly disappearing. Robin appeared and twirled his staff, ready to strike the girl, only to be blasted in the chest by a bright green blast.

Glancing back up, he saw Starfire, fist raised and lit as she stared at him. "Please do not make me do this, Robin. You are my best friend." She cried, staring at him with pleading eyes. For a moment, the alien almost thought she saw a look of confusion and realization flash on the boy's face. He shook his head, a small groan escaping his lips.

But before Star could fly down, she saw his eyes begin to glow a bright red and the look instantly disappeared, followed by one of pure hatred. "Shut up!" He snarled as he lunged forward, slamming his staff into the girl's side, grabbing her shoulders as she was distracted and throwing her to the ground.

Lifting his staff, he pressed the button on the side and three black metal prongs appeared at the end of it, the tips crackling with electricity. And he was pointing it straight at the alien's chest. Cyborg groaned as he lifted his head, gasping at the sight. Quickly jumping to his feet, he raised his arm and formed his cannon.

His arm shook as he gazed back at one of his oldest friends, willing the boy to return back to his normal state as annoying leader. From across the room, Raven lifted her head, her eyes widening at the sight of Starfire on the floor, Robin poised over her, crackling staff in hand while in the distance, Cyborg stood with his cannon aimed at Robin.

The sorceress saw the masked boy's arm tense as he prepared to strike the girl.

"Cyborg, fire!" She shouted.

The robot shut his eyes and felt the energy build up in his arm, a large blue beam shooting out of his arm, hitting Robin in the chest, sending the boy flying into the back wall, crumbling to the floor on impact.

"Robin!" the Titans called as they saw their friend laying motionless on the ground. But before any of them could move, a large green shockwave hit them all, sending them tumbling across the tiles.

Having bought himself some time, Danny limped over to his friend and knelt down checking the boy's pulse. Thankfully, it beat steady and strong. The blast had just knocked him out. He breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly morphed into anger as he heard the Titans begin to stand once more.

His eyes glowed crimson once more. But this time, the Titans noticed that the skin around his eyes was beginning to form small cracks, red light seeping through. He let out an almost animalistic growl as he curled his hands into fists, the temperature in the room dropping considerably. Beastboy flattened his ears at the energy the ghost was giving off. Instead of the feeling of safety and protection he normally felt from the boy, he only felt fear, hatred, and the one thing he had never expected to feel from the ghost

Death.

But before either side could make a move, the temperature in the room dropped so low, the Titans could see their own breath. From across the room, hey could even see Danny's ghost sense go off. "Umm...Titans?" Cyborg stated as the shadows began to reveal different entities appearing including Skulker, Ember, Johnny 13, Shadow, Desiree, Lydia and Walker. "How do you feel about a tactical retreat?" He asked as the ghosts began to close in.

He was met with a choir of agreements right before the ghosts surged forward. The force of the attack sent the Titans flying through the main doors and out into the forest once more. The ghosts followed, shooting hard and flying fast. The Titans realized quickly that this was not a fight they were going to win. They watched as Danny appeared once more, flying up into the air where he sent a large blast towards them, driving them back into the trees.

"AND DON'T COME BACK!" He shouted as he watched them retreat into the forest. Landing back down onto the ground, he felt his knees buckle under him as he collapsed onto his hands and knees. Ember kneeled down next to him and placed hands on his back, helping him to his feet. Johnny walked over to Robin and gently picked the boy up. Outside, "Are they gone?" Ember asked as she stared off into the trees, seeing nothing in the darkness. Danny sighed, wincing at the action. "For now. But something tells me they'll be back soon." The female rocker slowly helped the boy limp back into the mansion, the doors closing behind them.

Unbeknownst to them, seven pairs of eyes looked on from the trees, fear and sorrow evident in them all as they watched the large doors close, swallowing their friends once more. Dread washed over them as they finally realized something.

Their mission had been to locate Robin and Danny, two boys that had been kidnapped from their home and brought into the custody of Vlad. Their mission was to find two boys who cared about their friends so much. Who shared so many experiences with them. Who fought side by side with them. Who laughed with them. Who played with them. Their mission was to find their friends.

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

Their mission was a failure.

They never found them.


	20. Chapter 20: A Higher Power

**Chapter 20: A Higher Power**

* * *

 **Boreal Forest, Alaska**

 **6:24 p.m.**

The mud under their feet squelched as they trudged through it, the rain dripping down into their faces as they moved. Raven had only been able to teleport them so far to the edge of the forest while in her condition. Not that the others were faring much better.

Beastboy had a couple cracked ribs and a twisted ankle, limping slowly, with the aid of Cyborg and Tucker, who weren't as hurt physically as the others. Mentally was a whole different story altogether, though. Starfire slowly stumbled through the vegetation, flight out of the question with the way she was feeling. It also didn't help that she had a sprained shoulder, the same going for Sam and Raven.

Jazz had a few burn marks from some of her brother's ecto-blasts, which matched Raven and Starfire's. She also had a sprained wrist which she was currently holding close to her body. That, along with the fact that they were all cold and wet made them look miserable and pathetic, exactly what they felt on the inside.

Beastboy whimpered in pain as he slipped on the terrain and stumbled onto his ankle. Cyborg caught him before he could hit the ground and helped him sit on the soggy ground. The robot hovered his hand over the injury and tried to figure out exactly where the sprain was. As he did so, Beastboy brought his knee up to his chest and hugged it tightly, shutting his eyes as he tried not to think about what had happened.

Jazz placed her hand up as she looked at the sky, blocking the rain from her eyes as she tried to tell whether any of the leaguers were close. They had sent out a distress beacon as soon as they were a good distance away from the house. But so far, they hadn't received a response.

Suddenly, they heard the familiar sound of Starfire's powers charging up. Turning to her, they watched as she shot a continuous beam from her eyes at one of the nearby trees, letting out a scream of rage as she did so. The tree exploded in green light before catching flame, shocking everyone. Once the beam died down, Starfire wrapped her arms around herself and dropped down onto her knees, tears sliding down her cheeks as she sobbed into her hands.

Sam sighed and lowered her head, hugging herself tightly as the rain made her hair fall into her face, hopefully hiding her tears. She felt something wrap around her and glanced up, watching as Tucker finished placing his coat around her shoulders. Her lip quivered slightly before she embraced the boy in a large hug, sobbing quietly into his shoulder.

Suddenly, a bright flash of red and yellow appeared from the trees, startling the group. Flash began to take in large gulps of air as he placed his hands on his knees and held up a finger telling the kids to give him a minute. Finally he straightened up and turned to face the kids with a smile.

"Alright, please tell me you found someth-" He started, only to trail off as he took in the sight of the bedraggled and beaten team. "Whoa, what happened?" He asked with concern as he zoomed to each of the teens and checked them over for any serious life-threatening injuries. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found none and rushed back over to face the entire group.

"The boys happened." Raven sighed as she leaned back against a tree for support, her massive migraine making the whole world fuzzy.

Flash raised his head and stared at her in confusion. "Wait, what!? The boys did this? But that's impossible" He shouted in confusion.

"We thought so too." Cyborg groaned.

Flash blinked a few times before placing a hand to his ear and moving a little ways off from the rest of the teens. "Hey, Sups. You need to get here NOW." He called, watching as the Titans groaned as they slumped against trees or took seats in the ground.

" _Alright, I'll be there soon."_ He heard on the other end before the connection cut.

Zooming back over, Flash kneeled down next to Beastboy, who was still wincing in pain. "So let me get this straight. Danny and Robin attacked you?" He asked, watching as the Titans lowered their heads, silence washing over the clearing.

"Vlad. He did something to them." Jazz explained. "They're not themselves anymore."

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure it will be fine. It's not like they're zombies, right?" He said jokingly, surprised when he saw the Titans noticeably flinch. "Okay, I feel like I'm really missing something here." He said as he began to rub the back of his neck.

 _"Then maybe you should fill us in."_

They all turned around, watching as Superman landed softly onto the wet grass. Walking forward, he turned worried gazed to the Titans. "What happened here? And what's wrong with the boys?"

* * *

 **Masters' Mansion**

 **6:32 p.m.**

Danny winced as the cloth pressed against the cut on his head, silently cursing the Titans for about the seventh time in the last seven minutes. "Apologies, Daniel." Vlad sighed as he removed he cloth and dunked it in cold water once more, handing it to the boy, allowing him to do it himself.

Danny lowered his gaze. "Not your fault." He growled, fist curling around the comforter covering his bed.

"Has it always been this way with the Titans?" He asked, watching as Vlad moved the roll of gauze, disinfectant and water bowl to the side table. "Afraid so, my boy. Those teens have always been a nuisance."

"Pretty big nuisance, if you ask me." Robin sighed as his hand hovered over his chest.

Vlad nodded slowly, watching as Danny's face seemed to contort into one of confusion as he fell deep into thought. "What's on your mind, Daniel?" Vlad asked, the boy raising his head to meet Vlad's gaze. The boy furrowed his brow once more before speaking. "It's the Titans. The way they acted. Didn't it seem weird to you, Robin?" He asked, turning to face the teen.

Robin nodded, mirroring the same confused look. "Yeah, all those things they said about us not being right in the head. That we were being tricked. It seemed like they really believed everything they were saying. Like it was the actual truth."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, even in their attacks, I could tell they were holding back for some reason." He turned back to Vlad. "I can sort of understand all those lies they told, but if they realized those lies weren't working, why would they hold back on their attacks. If the scheme wasn't working, wouldn't they just want to take us out altogether?" He asked.

Neither of them heard the string of curses running through Vlad's mind as he began mixing up another lie. "I don't know why they would hold back on their attacks. Perhaps they were hoping that would trick you into doubting yourselves." He explained.

Danny and Robin passed a glance at each other, knowing that probably wasn't everything to it. "But something tells me that this fight wasn't their last." Vlad growled, heading towards the door. "Stay on guard, you two. This was only the beginning." He said, slamming the door to the room behind him.

Danny sighed and rubbed his face, turning back to Robin. "How are you feeling?" He asked, watching as the boy winced once more.

Robin sighed. "I've been better. But it's not as bad as you think. It'll probably heal in a couple days or so." He explained. "How about you?" He asked, noticing the large scar that ran from the boy's temple and moved across his hairline. Danny chuckled slightly. "Beastboy sure packs a punch when he wants to."

Robin smiled. "Yeah, he'd be even more dangerous if he wasn't always pulling pranks on everyone and actually focused on training." He sighed with a chuckle, freezing as the words registered in his mind, Danny's as well. "H...how did you know he pulls pranks all the time?" He asked.

Robin furrowed his brow. "I...I don't know. I-"

"You just do." Danny finished, the same feeling coursing through him.

"And that girl, Starfire." Robin started. "I felt I knew everything about her. And that feeling was so strong. I...I felt so strongly about her." He sighed, placing a hand to his head. "I don't understand. One moment, I didn't want to hurt her, and another...all I wanted _was_ to hurt her. Like two sides of a coin." He explained.

Danny nodded, jumping to his feet. "Exactly. I was feeling that when I saw Sam and Tucker. I mean, I remember fighting them. We've been doing it for years...but I...I feel like that isn't all there is. I feel like...I care about them. And that would match with what those Titans were saying. Robin...you don't suppose they were telling the truth...were they?" He asked, his voice faltering.

Robin furrowed his brow and stayed silent. Finally, after what felt like a millennium, he cast a fearful stare at the boy. "W...What's happening to us?"

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **7:07 p.m.**

Flash felt Beastboy's grip on his arm tighten as the boy stumbled a bit. The red-clad man helped the boy steady himself before continuing down the hallway, the other freshly treated teens walking slowly behind him, Superman bringing up the rear.

Pressing a series of buttons on the control panel, Flash watched as the two large metal doors slid open, revealing a room with a large round table in the center, seven chairs positioned around the table. Batman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and J'onn were already seated in their seats, glancing up as the group entered.

Watching Beastboy give him a small nod, Flash released him, making sure the boy was steady on his feet before zooming over to take a seat at his chair, Superman doing the same as well.

Batman narrowed his eyes as he stood from his chair and placed his hands on the cold steel table. "Start explaining." He growled.

Cyborg sighed and rubbed the side of his face. "We had been wandering in the forest for a while and we were starting to wonder if it was even worth it considering there was a large chance they weren't even there in the first place." He started.

"But a finally sensed something. It was them. But...it was different. It wasn't normal. It was like their minds were foggy, muddled. I could sense they weren't themselves, but we went to go investigate anyways." Raven explained.

The Leaguers listened in silence as the teens explained what happened, silently trying to figure out exactly how to handle it.

"We arrived at what looked like an abandoned mansion. At first we were skeptical of it. It didn't really fit Vlad's character. But then we remembered that the boys had told us the new hideout wasn't like the others. So we decided to check it out anyways." Sam told them.

"The inside couldn't be any more different than the outside. It was like a brand new mansion." Beastboy said quietly, not at all like his usual chipper self.

"Inside, we saw them. But...they were different." Jazz explained. "They seemed angrier, full of something that isn't them. They talked like they had never seen us before. Looked at us like we were the enemy. They changed, even their eyes. They were red."

"They attacked us, and they did not show us mercy." Starfire whispered.

"We couldn't fight them. Not with our full strength. Our friends were still inside there somewhere. They were in there buried under all of that aggression, under all that anger, that hatred." Tucker explained to them. "So, let's just say the battle didn't go well."

Cyborg clenched his fists. "Vlad did this. HE changed them. He...he made them fight us. He made them think of us as the enemy." He growled. "I don't know how he did this, but he found a way to turn them against us and make them think he's the good guy."

Diana furrowed her brow. "But...how is it possible? To implant memories and alter someone's brain in such a fashion?" She asked.

Sam lifted her gaze. "Tucker and I have dealt with something like this before, with Freakshow. He was this crazed ringmaster who used ghosts to do his bidding." She explained. "He had this orb that could place Danny under his control. But this was different. Danny wasn't just a mindless drone, neither of them were. They were still themselves, still stubborn and protective of each other, but it was like their minds were only warped to alter their perspective on us and Vlad himself." She told them.

Superman raised a brow. "So he created something to alter their minds, but not their personalities?" He asked.

Lantern raised his head. "If Vlad's dosing them with something that's altering their minds, then we'll need to create an antidote to cleanse out the serum."

"If it even is a serum." J'onn countered.

Hawkgirl cocked her head. "Say it is, how are we supposed to create an antidote for a serum we have no information on?" She asked.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "We get the information." He growled out.

"Alright, care to clarify?" Flash asked.

"Without any means to know what's infecting the boys, we'll need to get a sample and see what's going on in their blood." He explained. "So, first, we'll need to dose one of the boys with sedative and get them back here. From there, we can begin to create something that can combat the poison in their systems." He stated.

"Sedative?" Flash asked.

"Would you rather knock them out with brute force?" Batman growled darkly, glaring at the speedster, who gulped and quickly shook his head.

"This could work." Superman said.

Sam rubbed the bandages on her arms, feeling the sore burns underneath. "Well I suggest we do this quickly. Who knows what long-term effects that serum can have on them, especially considering the fact we don't know how many doses Vlad's already given them." She explained.

Batman nodded. "The longer they're in the grasp of Vlad, that serum will continue to run through them. We have no idea whether it's temporary or worse. If we don't do this quickly, the effects could become permanent." He said gravely.

The Titans quickly shared looks of concern, remembering the looks of hatred and rage that had flashed at them from their friends' eyes. Batman quickly stood from his seat. "Once we finish this sedative, you'll have to lead us to that house." he said, walking over to the large computer over by the wall.

Hawkgirl furrowed his brow. "Uh, wouldn't a regular sedative work perfectly fine?" He asked.

Batman smirked under his breath. "You obviously haven't met Robin." He said.

"Or Danny, apparently." Sam said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Besides, we don't know what effects that serum can have on the rest of their body. We might need a bigger dose to efficiently knock them out." He explained, pulling up the sample file for the chemical he would need. "I should have this done in a few hours. I suggest you kids get some rest. You'll need it." He growled, not turning around as he began to scribble some notes on the paper before walking out of the room.

As the Leaguers stood to discuss things quietly to themselves, the Titans turned and walked out of the conference rooms, making their way towards their separate rooms, which had been assigned the last time they had been stuck up here.

Tuck sighed. "Sam, he'll be alright, right? I mean, last time he was controlled like this, he was strong enough to break through, so...he'll be okay?" He asked her. the girl sighed, the Titans listening as they walked alongside them. "I don't know, guys. Last time, the hold wasn't too strong on him. He was able to see through the fog at times." She explained.

"It also helped that the person controlling him was a bit of an idiot. But this time, it's Vlad. And we all know that guy's bad news. This time...this time..I don't know if we can break him out, either of them." She confessed. "They seemed so sure of everything. That was true hatred they showed."

Beastboy flattened his ears. "So...does that mean...our friends are gone?" He asked.

The Titans said nothing, keeping their heads down at the uncertainty rumbling in their minds before Sam said the one thing they were all thinking in the back of their minds, past all the hope they were still trying to keep.

"I don't know."

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I've been a little busy. I just had a random urge to write something else. So, fun fact, if you're interested in MLP and Danny Phantom(which you are, considering the crossover section you're in right now), you should go check out my new story, Equestria's Phantom.**

 **Don't worry, just because I started a new story doesn't mean I'm going to stop this story. I made a commitment and I'm going to finish it. Besides, I've already planned out everything that's going to happen in the rest of the story, all the way to the end. This story will have at least 30 chapters, probably more and hopefully more than 100,000 words.**

 **Anyways, thanks or understanding and check out what happens in the next installment of**

 **The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions**


	21. Chapter 21: Serums Part l

**Chapter 21: Serums Part l**

* * *

 **The Underground**

 **4:38 p.m.**

Vlad paced back and forth, watching as the main members of the Order began to pour into the room, annoyed looks on their faces for being summoned so suddenly. Spectra growled as she took a seat. "This better be important, Plasmius."

The man scoffed, saying nothing else as the others took their seats. "We're going to need to move on to the next phase of our plan soon." The halfa stated as he stopped pacing and placed his hands down onto the table.

"Now that those Titans know about the boys, they'll undoubtedly return to see what they can do to return them back to normal." He explained to them. "And just like before, the boys will see them as enemies and attack. But, their friends won't fight at full power, not without hurting their precious boys." He said with a smirk.

Aargon narrowed his eyes. "What does this have to do with anything?" He growled at the man.

Vlad grinned. "As I'm sure you've been wondering, I didn't just take Daniel. I took that friend of his as well." He told them. They rolled their eyes as they heard the man explain information they already knew. "Yes, yes and we've already exclaimed our distaste for it. That human child is worthless, Plasmius." Vortex snarled.

Vlad raised up a finger. "But...what you didn't account for was what the two of them tie to." He told them, watching as their expressions morphed into confusion.

"Those Titans care too much for both of them to hurt them, and Daniel's friends and family won't be willing to fight him either." He stated. "And as for Robin, he's the closest link to Batman, which is one of the pillars of the Justice League. With someone so important to them in our grasp, they won't dare defy us." He explained to them.

Spectra narrowed her eyes. "And what if they do?" She asked.

Vlad smirked. "What do you think that little project I'm working on is for?" He said with a grin. "Once everything starts to piece together, we will unleash the Zyphius Detonator upon the League, the Titans, and whoever is dumb enough to challenge us." He growled at them.

Hotep-Ra narrowed his eyes. "The Zyphius Detonator? Explain."

Vlad smirked and crossed his arms behind his back. "The serums we've been administering to the boys aren't the only samples of the poison we have. We have more. _Much_ more." He began to explain. "I've been working on a way to make the poison airborne, easily distributed. That's where the Zyphius Detonator comes in."

"The main component of the poison, Zyphius, can also serve as a power source for the bomb. So, if it must come to it, we will plant the Detonator where needed and activate it. Once on, it will distribute the Zyphius poison across a 15 mile radius, successfully altering and bending anyone in distance to our will." He explained.

"If we can create more of those machines and plant them around the world, we will become unstoppable." He shouted, his eyes glowing a dark crimson red.

The ghosts around the table glanced at each other for a moment. "And the boy? What will happen to that irksome weed when this is all done and through?" Undergrowth growled out, the others turning to Vlad.

Vlad lowered his gaze in thought at the question. Before Danny's secret had been exposed, he had wanted nothing more than to obtain the boy as his son, To have someone else like him around. Even recently, Vlad was able to get a taste of what it would be like if the boy really was loyal to him.

But still...nothing would really ever change the boy so much that could wipe away everything else that had passed between the two of them over the months. Vlad's mind replayed something that seemed to have happened ages ago, if really only being a few months back.

Danny revealing the man's secret. The anger and hatred on Maddie's face as she pointed her ecto-gun at his chest, spitting out a torrent of insults and threats that broke his heart with every word. Fury ripping through him as he gazed at the boy that had ruined everything. A searing pain in the side of his face as his skin bubbled and burned.

He clenched his fists in fury as the memories faded once more. Taking a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes before turning back up to the ghosts.

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure than watching you tear him to pieces." He growled out, the ghosts grinning at that.

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **5:03 p.m.**

Batman yawned for the fifth time in the last six minutes. He growled and stood up from his seat in the dark room, deciding to walk around the room, trying to keep himself alert. He sighed and rubbed his face, his fingers rubbing up against the cold material of his cowl.

His fingers dug under the mask and tugged up, pulling the cowl off of his face, letting it hang behind his shoulders as he took a seat once more and placed his head in his hands.

His piercing blue eyes stared down at the clear liquid in the container. He narrowed his eyes and leaned down once more, diving right back into his work, trying to keep his mind busy so it wouldn't wander...wander to Robin.

Eventually, the liquid in the container seemed to please the man enough for him to dub it worthy. He grabbed the syringes by the edge of the table and filled them with the clear liquid, tapping the sides as he pressed down on the bottom, a small stream of the liquid squirting out before falling to the floor.

He nodded in satisfaction before storing the syringes in a compartment in his belt, placing his cowl back on his head before walking out of the room.

Walking into the main room, he saw the Titans and other Leaguers milling around the room, different papers scattered on the tables and floor. Cyborg typed at the main computer, Superman, Jazz and Lantern hovering behind him as they watched the different screens popping up.

Diana, Flash and Hawkgirl held stacks of papers in their hands, each filled with information on different chemicals and their effects as they faced Sam, Tucker, Beastboy and Starfire. They were currently asking about the strange characteristics the boys had shown, checking them with the effects that certain chemicals displayed, trying to figure out which might be included in the serum.

And J'onn hovered in the air with Raven, the sorceress relaying information on the boys into the martian's mind, the man trying to see if any of the characteristics matched effects from any alien plants he knew. So far, it didn't seem as if the serum had any alien plants included in it, and Flash, Diana and Shayera were striking out as well.

They all stopped what they were doing when Batman walked into the room. He nodded his head. "We're done here. Let's go." He growled out, the people in the room quickly moving from their spots as they headed towards the Javelin Bay.

"Titans, you're going to have to get to them first." Batman explained as they ran down the hallway. "If they see us bearing down on them as well, they'll probably go to the safety of the mansion. But if we can keep them in the foyer, in the forest, we might have a chance at keeping them down." He told them.

"Once you have them distracted, we'll round back and block off their way towards the mansion and keep them cornered. Then I'll be able to administer the sedative to one of them."

The others nodded in understanding as they entered the Javelin Bay, finally on the right track.

* * *

 _The bright flash of the camera blinded him for a moment before his vision slowly returned. He sighed and lowered the suit. "Okay. I showed you the portal. Can we get out of here now? My parents could be back here any minute." He said as he turned to glance at the gaping hole in the wall. "Besides, they say it doesn't work anyways."_

" _Come on, Danny. A ghost zone? Aren't you curious? You've got to check it out." The girl said, the features on her face blurry and faded._

 _He hesitated for a moment before a smile formed on his face. "You know what? You're right. I mean, who knows what sort of awesome, super-cool things exist on the other side of this portal?" He said as he stepped into the suit._

 _The girl frowned as she walked forward. "Hang on, you can't go walking around with that on your chest." She said, removing a sticker, the face it once used to be faded and blurred._

 _He rolled his eyes before turning back to the portal. Stepping inside, he placed a hand to the wall, feeling his way in deeper and deeper until his hand brushed up against something hard on the wall. The button pushed in and a blinding white light surrounded him, a fiery sensation climbing up his spine as it wrapped around him._

 _He let out a scream of pain as everything went black._

...

 _The sun shone brightly as it began to rise up from the horizon, casting a warm orange glow on the purple waves crashing against the side of the dock. "You think everyone will really believe it was all a dream?" He asked, turning to the others, their faces, once again, shrouded in shadow._

 _"I got to say, Nocturne was an evil creep, but I wouldn't mind having my dream again. I could get used to that." The boy said with a content smile, gazing out over the waters, the birds crying out overhead._

 _"Me too." The redhead next to him said. "Yale professor? What's not to love?" She turned her head to look over at him. "What about you two?" She asked._

 _He suddenly felt his heart start to pound as he gazed over to the dark-haired girl sitting next to him._

 _"I...uh...I" He heard himself stuttering, the girl apparently having the same problem._

 _"I don't even remember what my dream was about." He finally blurted, the girl beside him agreeing._

 _The redhead cocked her head. "Really? That's too bad."_

 _He shrugged. "Oh, well. Dreams...gateway to the subconscious...uh...I don't think so." He said with a grin. "Yeah, dream on." The girl stated. As the two glanced over at each other, his cheeks grew warm as a light red blush appeared, a small smile forming on his face as he turned his head away, the girl doing the same._

 _..._

 _A fiery burning sensation coursed throughout his entire body as a pained scream escaped his throat as the blasters shot at him. He could here a large crowd of people gasping below him as they watched the scene. Crashing down, he felt the ground cave around him, a large crater appearing in the road._

 _Suddenly, a warm ring appeared around his waist and traveled up and down his body until his white hair and green eyes were replaced with a boy with dark black hair and piercing baby blue eyes._

 _The collective gasp of the citizens made his raise his head and watch as all of their blurred faces seemed to convey shock as they stood rigid in bewilderment at the sight they had just seen. The whir of helicopter blades could be heard in the air._

 _Suddenly, he turned his head to stare at the faded face of the woman behind him, blaster falling to the ground as she stared at him, a single word falling from her mouth._

 _"Danny?"_

 _..._

 _"SURPRISE!"_

 _He leapt back in surprise as he stared at the blurred faces in shock before turning his attention to the room behind them. The bottom half of the walls were painted black white the top half were a startling white, a thick green line going around the room, separating the two colors._

 _Green patterns and etches ran along the painted walls except for the one wall that seemed to be an entire glass window, staring out at the glistening water below them. A round bed sat against one of the walls. A small white pillow and matching blanket contrasted the dark black bed, a ghost emblem sewn onto the pillow._

 _The ceiling was painted to depict a starry night sky, the stars seeming to twinkle in their place. And above the bed, a picture frame hung, depicting a scene with a large group of teens, each of their faces shaded and blurred, masking the sight._

 _He turned to the blurred teens once more, their faces beginning to clear slightly as he squinted his eyes. The nearest teen walked forward. "Like I said, you guys have proven yourself battle after battle that you're excellent teammates, risking your own lives just to help us."_

 _He turned back to the other blurred teens. "We discussed this, and there was no question. We all agreed." He pulled something out of his belt and held it out._

 _It was four round communicators, the insignia blurred and shrouded in shadow._

 _"We want you guys to be Titans, all of you."_

 _..._

 _He stood on the edge of a cliff, a large T shaped tower in the background as blurred shapes mingled around him. He turned and faced the girl in front of him, her face becoming clearer and clearer as the moments passed._

 _"You know, if this experience brought me closer to anyone, it would be you. You know that, right?" She asked, lifting her head to gaze back at the boy._

 _He felt himself nod as she continued. "And just because I'm leaving doesn't mean we'll stop being friends." She told him._

 _He felt his heart clench as he gazed back at her. "Just friends?" He asked._

 _She lifted her gaze once more. He could now make out her amethyst eyes as she stared at him. "Danny...I...I-" She stated, only for him to cut her off. "I know, Sam. I...I do too." He said with a small smile._

 _The girl sighed and planted a small kiss on his cheek. As she turned away, he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her close, kissing her on the lips. As the two pulled away, he gasped as her face began to clear up, showing her face completely._

 _"S...Sam?" Danny asked, confusion evident in her voice._

 _The girl smiled. "Try and keep me away." She said, a smirk growing on her face. "Watch those weekends, Danny. We'll be here every chance we get. Besides, you still have to help us with Astronomy homework."_

 _He blinked in surprise as another teen walked over, his face clearing to reveal Tucker. "Always knew you two love-birds would get together." He beamed._

 _Sam rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well let's have the kids back at school try and call us lovebirds again and see what happens." She smirked. "I have a ghost boy and I'm not afraid to use him." She smiled as she walked back over to the blurred group of teens, Tucker walking with him._

 _Danny cocked his head in confusion as he felt himself move with them. Lifting his head once more, he saw the faces of the teens clear to reveal Starfire, Beastboy, Raven, Cyborg and Robin._

 _He gaped and stumbled backwards, hearing the teens converse with each others in words that seemed familiar, like he had heard them before. He groaned and held his head, trying to understand what was happening._

 _Were these memories?_

 _They couldn't be memories. Here, he was friends with the Titans, and that wasn't true..._

 _or was it?_

 _He let out a shout as he felt a searing pain in the back of his mind, the scene fading around him, leaving him in inky blackness as he collapsed to his knees. Suddenly, he felt the temperature rise as the area became enveloped in smoke and ash. He gasped, trying to get air into his lungs as fire consumed him and everything around him._

* * *

 **Masters' Mansion**

 **6:12 p.m.**

Danny gasped, bolting upright as his eyes flew open. He placed a hand to his chest, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart as he took in where he was. The wind whipped around him as he felt his back digging into jagged stone. Around him, a sea of dark green trees rolled in the breeze.

"You okay?"

Turning his head, he watched Robin walking over, the brick tiles shifting under his feet. Placing a hand to the surface he sat on, Danny felt hard stone and sharp edges to the tiles of the roof. He furrowed his brow and turned back to the boy. "Where are we?" He asked.

Robin took a seat next to him. "The roof. Vlad warned us that the Titans might come back soon so he sent us up here to scout and stay on surveillance. You were only asleep for about half an hour, but you hadn't been getting much sleep anyways so I let you." He explained, turning back to gaze out at the rolling waves of the forest.

Danny sighed and wrapped his arms around his knees, shutting his eyes as he tried to erase the last traces of his dream. The scent of rain hung heavy in the air as the darkening night sky began to mingle together with the approaching storm clouds. Rain seemed to be the only type of weather the sky could generate over the forest and its inhabitants.

Robin narrowed his eyes and got up from his spot at the edge of the roof, walking over to the boy, lowering himself into a seated position next to him. He glanced at Danny, said boy sighing as he heard the unspoken question that passed between them.

"I don't understand. The Titans, they're our enemies. I hate them. I _hate_ them!" He shouted, clenching his fists. He shut his eyes, his shoulders slumping in a tired fashion as he sighed. "But...I know that's not all there is. I feel...I feel like there's something else between us." He explained.

Robin listened in silence as the boy continued. "That dream...it...it wasn't just a dream. Those weren't just figments of my imagination. They...they were too detailed to be anything other than...than...memories." His forehead creased in confusion. "But...but that's impossible. In my dream, we were friends. Vlad wasn't there at all. Neither were the other ghosts. The Titans weren't our enemies. They were...family."

Robin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know, Danny. I'm so confused." He confessed. "And I feel like the truth is right there, just out of reach." He lowered his gaze, his eyes flashing red for a moment before raising his head once more, a hard look on his face. "But I do know one thing. This is our home, whether we remember it or not. And I know that the Titans are threatening everything we've built here. And I'm not about to let them take all of this from us." He growled.

Danny furrowed his brow as he lowered his head to gaze at the tiles under their feet, tracing over the cracks and bumps in the design when suddenly, the same flash of color melted into his irises before returning to normal. He narrowed his eyes and lifted his head. "You're right." He growled out, the two turning their heads to gaze back out at the forest, scanning the woods for any sign of the enemy.

* * *

 **6:34 p.m.**

Batman narrowed his eyes as he stared out at the dark mansion that loomed in front of him. A small roll of thunder sounded overhead, but it did little to phase him as he turned back to the group of teens, the rest of the League standing behind him. "Remember the plan." He growled to them.

Cyborg nodded as the Titans turned to gaze at the mansion, a similar feeling of dread setting in the pit of their stomachs at the thought of fighting their friends once more. "Right." The robot sighed as he shut his eyes for a brief moment.

Wonder Woman placed a hand on his shoulder. "It will be alright." She said, now addressing the other teens as well. "We will get through this." She turned her head to gaze at the looming structure. "And so will they." She finished.

Superman hovered in the air as he cleared his throat. "We should get moving." He instructed the others, who nodded in agreement. The Leaguers passed one last glance towards the teens before making their way deeper into the forest, beginning to travel towards the back of the mansion, where they would lie on wait until the time came.

Raven took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she turned to face the others. "Come on." She said quietly, running her hands gently over the bark of the nearby trees as she walked forward. The Titans hesitated for a moment before following.

A drop of rain splattered onto Beastboy's nose as they walked. He sniffed and quickly shook it off, trying to keep himself focused on the task at hand, which was proving to be difficult for him. Shaking his head, he hardened his gaze as he sped up his pace, keeping in line with the others as they made their way to the edge of the tree line.

Out in the open, the mansion looked even bigger and creepier, especially with the little amounts of light coming in from the sky. Dark shadows stretched towards the teens, engulfing them in darkness. A crack of lightning split the sky, illuminating the structure before leaving them momentarily blind.

Tucker rubbed the back of his neck, turning to face the others. "So...are we going to have to go in there again, or are they going to come out?" He asked, wondering what would happen if the boys didn't show up at all.

Luckily, or maybe not so lucky, a bright green blast whizzed passed their heads, a large explosion sounding behind them as the ecto-blast made contact with the ground. The fiery heat from the explosion tingled across their backs as they quickly readied themselves.

Leaping down from the roof, they watched as Danny and Robin stalked closer.

Sam and Starfire felt similar pangs in their heart as they gazed back at the two boys they cared most about, dread creeping into their chests at the thought of fighting them.

Cyborg and Tucker took reflexive steps backwards, reluctant to cause their best friends harm. Beastboy flattened his ears as he watched his teammates' gazes harden with rage and hatred as they stared back at the group of teens.

Raven felt her fingers twitch as her powers screamed at her to attack the threat in front of her, while her mind and her heart held her back from hurting her friends. Jazz tightened her grip on her staff, trying her best not to show the pain on her face as her gaze fell on the look in her brother's eyes.

"I warned you about coming back here." Danny snarled at the group as he curled his hands into fists so tight he was surprised his skin didn't begin to rip of tear. Robin grit his teeth as raised his hand towards his belt, slowly wrapping his fingers around the cold metal of his bo-staff. "I guess you guys didn't get the lesson." He growled.

Sam stepped forward. "Boys, please." She begged, hoping once more that they might be able to get through to them. "Fight this. Whatever Vlad did to you, you have to fight. You're stronger than it. You're stronger than _him._ And I know you're strong enough to pull through." She begged, her eyes glossing over as her voice dripped in desperation.

Crimson eyes flashed in the rain, causing Danny to snarl like that of a feral beast. "I'm done listening to your lies! I'm tired of putting up with you all! And I'm sick of staring at you pathetic, wretched, insignificant low-life freaks!" He screamed, stalking closer with every word he spat, the Titans shrinking back with every insult that spewed from the teen's mouth.

" I don't care what you say, what ANY of you say. Because I know one thing for certain." He barked at them. "You monsters are the enemy here. And I can't wait to tear you Titans apart!" He roared as he surged forward, firing an ecto-blast at the group's feet. The force of the attack took the teens by surprise, knocking them off of their feet.

Robin narrowed his eyes, which were now glowing a continuous red, and grabbed a pair of explosive pellets. He twisted his arm around, hurling the explosives towards the group, a black shield appearing around them as a mixture of reds, oranges and grays shot into the air from the impact.

From inside the shield, the Titans nodded to each other, confirming their pan once more. As the shield dropped, Beastboy, Starfire, Tucker and Jazz broke away from the others and headed towards Robin, who gripped his staff tightly. The remaining Titans faced off against Danny, who grit his teeth and curled his glowing green fists.

"Come on!" He challenged the group, flying high into the air. Raven narrowed her eyes and took off after him. HE watched the sorceress following and grinned inwardly. Twisting around in the air, he fired a barrage of blasts at the girl.

She grit her teeth and created black shields to intercept the attacks. Blow after blow, she watched the green energy dissipate around her magic, when suddenly, a glowing green fist shattered one of her shields, sending her crashing to the ground at the strength behind the blow.

Cyborg narrowed his eyes as he raised his arm and fires a stream of searing energy towards the halfa, who curled around the beam, diving back towards the ground as he did so. Reaching into his ice core, he felt a layer of ice building in his palms as he readied a blast, sending a wave of frost towards the ground.

Cyborg gasped as the terrain under his feet became slick and bare, crashing onto his shoulder as he tried steadying himself. Landing on the ground, Danny raised a fist towards the teen, only to receive a hard punch to the chest, driving him backwards.

Glaring up, crimson eyes met amethyst as Sam stared back at him. Her reluctance vanished as the boy charged, realizing she would have to focus on the task at hand, rather than her feeling for the boy.

Rearing her glowing fists once more, she fires a blast from her palm, intangibility rearing itself as Danny flew through the beam and hit eh girl in the jaw, sending her flying backwards. Raven reached out with her magic and caught the girl before she could hit the ground, placing her back onto her feet.

Before Danny could charge them, he was bowled over by a heavy force. Rolling around on the slick grass, he felt the cold water begin to seep into his suit as his back pressed down into the soggy ground, Cyborg pushing with all his might to keep the Ghost Boy down.

The rain pelted them as it began to pour down harder and harder, white bangs falling into his eyes as Danny glared up at the teen. "Come on, man. Don't make me hurt you!" Cyborg shouted, only to let out a shout of shock as Danny grabbed his shoulders and threw him over his head, the teen landing hard on the ground. "Don't make me laugh!" Danny countered, flying forwards.

Suddenly, a stream of black magic hit him in the side, sending him skidding across the field. Raven kept her hand raised as Danny snarled, digging his hands into the soaked ground as he curled his fingers into the dirt, releasing a wave of green energy from his fingertips into the ground, the energy snaking its way through the grass and up towards Raven, who shouted in pain as the blast knocked her off of her feet.

As Danny stood, Sam slid under his legs and twisted her feet around his. Rolling her body to the side, she knocked him to the ground, where she leapt on top of him and grabbed his wrists, pushing them into the ground. The hum of her gauntlets could be heard as they shook by Danny's ears. The sound made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the electricity sparked through the air.

He snarled at her and kicked out with his back legs, knocking her off balance enough for him to shove her off and deliver a hard kick to her chest, driving her backwards. Sam growled and quickly stood back up again. As she charged, Danny slid under her outstretched hands and curled his fists together, a thick layer of ice building up around his curled fists.

He narrowed his eyes as he whipped his hands up, the ice covered fists making contact with the girl's chin, driving her head upwards as she flew backwards, the ice shattering on impact. The girl groaned as she struggled to move her body off of the ground. The rain dripped into her eyes as she tried to stand, her surroundings blurry.

She gasped as a glowing green light made its way into her sight. Danny loomed over her, his hands glowing green, a perfect contrast to his pure red eyes.

Robin felt his boots make a skid in the dirt as he was driven backwards. Placing a hand to the ground to steady himself, he glared back up at the teens in front of him.

Beastboy's tail whipped back and forth as the lion's head stayed low to the ground, its teeth bared. Starfire's eyes glowed an electric green, seeming to spark with power. Tucker's whip crackled with power as it lay ready, his hands gripping the handle tightly. Jazz twirled her bow staff, placing the end firmly on the ground as she turned a hard gaze at the boy.

Robin snarled and whipped out his own staff, charging the group once more.

Starfire flew forward, intent on grabbing the boy, only to gasp in surprise as he slid underneath her and leapt onto the lion. The feline snarled in rage and confusion as Robin twirled his staff over his head, three metal prongs now protruding from the top. The tips crackled with electricity as he drove them into the creature's shoulder.

The lion let out a howl of pain as currents of electricity coursed through its body, singeing the fur around its shoulder. Suddenly, a glowing green whip wrapped around the boy's waist yanking him off of the cat. He hit the ground with a thud, rolling in the dirt, mud splattering on the side of his face as he steadied himself once more.

His eyes widened, rolling out of the way as Jazz slammed her staff where his head had been moments ago. He narrowed his eyes and pulled out a bird-a-rang, twisting around the girl, slicing her arm as he went by. She let out a shout of pain, gripping the side of her arm tightly as Robin rounded back again, slamming his staff into her chest, sending her skidding across the grass.

A crash of thunder echoed throughout the air, but nobody seemed to take any notice as the battle raged on.

He suddenly found himself be tackled to the ground before getting lifted up into the air. Starfire held him under the arms as she flew into the air. Robin narrowed his eyes and reached into his pocket, pulling out an exploding disk. Hurling it at the girl, she didn't expect it to unleash a blinding white light. She shut her eyes in pain as the world disappeared, only to be replaced with a burning white void.

Robin took this distraction to grab onto the girl's shoulders and drag her back down to the ground with him, ramming his shoulder in between her shoulder blades as they handed hard onto the ground.

Rolling away from her, Robin watched Danny get blasted his way. Stopping the boy from flying backwards any farther, he hauled the teen to his feet, the two staring off against the Titans as they slowly moved closer and closer. Cyborg helped Starfire to her feet as he passed her, turning to gaze back at the boys.

Both sides looked like hell, soaked to the bone, long scars and slashes running across their bodies, their hair sticking up at wrong angles, only to be drenched in water as it hung down over their eyes. As the boys watched the Titans move closer, they realized that their chances of winning were diminishing with every hit they took.

With their small number of two compared to the Titans seven, there was no break for them as they fought. Every time they took one Titans down, another leapt into their place, giving their teammates enough time to recover and join the fight once more.

Gazing behind them at the mansion, the two nodded to each other, passing a silent message. Reaching into his pocket, Robin pulled out a handful of pellets, hurling them at the ground, a large plume of smoke covering the area.

As they began to quickly make their way towards the mansion, they skidded to a stop as a new group landed in front of them, blocking them from the safety of their base. Danny clenched his fists tightly, Robin curling his fingers around his staff as they both faced off against the League of heroes in front of them.

As the smoke disappeared, the Titans ran over as well, completing the circle that surrounded the two boys. Quickly moving back to back, facing against each team, the boys realized something quickly.

Safety in numbers was a one way street, and there was about to be a head-on collision.


	22. Chapter 22: Injections Part ll

**Chapter 22: Injections Part ll**

* * *

 **The Underground**

Vlad narrowed his eyes as the rumbling continued above ground, a clear sign that the battle was still going strong. The ghosts around the room glanced at each other in confusion, watching as the man calmly walked back and forth. Wasn't he going to do anything?

The man smirked as a particularly loud rumble shook the room, the ghosts beginning to murmur to themselves. Finally, he turned back to them. "Alright, go see what's happening up there. See what kind of trouble you can stir up for those Titans." He instructed.

Most of the ghosts grumbled at receiving orders from Plasmius. But considering the fact that he was the main pillar in the very group they longed to join, and that the Fright Knight was standing off to the side, ready to act if needed, they kept their complaints to themselves and turned intangible, flying through the roof to lend their aid.

Vlad nodded in satisfaction before turning to the group of ghosts that had not left their seats and smirked. "Vortex, Aargon, go up there and scope out what's happening. Join in when the situation calls for it." He said, folding his arms behind his back as he turned away.

He raised a brow as a cold hand gripped his shoulder and spun him around. "Mind yourself, Plasmius." Aargon snarled, the other ghosts sending him the same cold glare. "You may have those two boys wrapped around your finger, but we are not so easily manipulated." He growled. "After all of this, I still find myself no closer than before to destroying that little wretch. I have half a mind to return to my kingdom and-"

"You mean your _sister's_ kingdom" Vlad corrected, sneering at the ghost.

Aargon whirled around, about to snarl something in reply, only for Plasmius to silence him. "Haven't you imbeciles figured it out yet?" He snarled. "Apart, none of you were able to defeat Daniel. You all tried, and failed miserably. But now that we're together, we literally have him to use at our beck and call." He explained, his eyes glowing a bright red.

"And if you think you insignificant little worms can just mess up my plans, you have another think coming to you." He snarled, the air suddenly becoming frigid. "There are worse things than death, and I'll gladly show them to you if you think you can mess this up." He roared at them.

Silence enveloped the room as the ghosts pondered what the man had said, determined to show neutrality, even though the truth was that Plasmius' words shook them. Finally, Aargon rolled his eyes and sighed, turning intangible as he flew through the roof.

Vortex scoffed at Vlad before doing the same, turning back before he disappeared. "I must say, Plasmius. You have changed significantly since the last time we met." He said, narrowing his eyes. "Guess that means you're finally doing something right." He growled before phasing through the roof.

* * *

Danny stared at the Leaguers in front of him, mind reeling for a moment as he tried to figure out why they were here. His fists clenched when he realized the Titans must have called for them. He growled and turned towards the teens. "What, can't handle us yourselves?" He snarled at them.

Superman stepped forward, hand extended in peace. "Hey, it's okay." He said softly. "We're not going to hurt you."

Danny whipped around and let out a growl. Batman narrowed his eyes when he was the teen's irises flash crimson and stay the dark glowing color instead of his usual liquid green. He then focused his gaze on Robin, the boy glaring at the group with the an unfamiliar amount of malice and hatred. He felt his stomach clench when the boy turned towards him, revealing that his eyes were the same deadly color.

"Space us the lies!" Robin growled.

"Robin, they are not lies. They are truths. Please come with us, you are not well." Wonder Woman pleaded softly, noticing the color of their eyes. Danny's fists lit up with green energy. "Shut up! We wouldn't fall for the Titans' lies. Why should we fall for yours?" He snarled.

Hawkgirl narrowed her eyes. "Kid, come on! You really think you can take on all of us?" She asked.

Robin turned a small glance towards Danny at this, said boy narrowing his eyes in thought. Suddenly, a light blue wisp flew from his mouth, a chill running up and down his spine. He smirked, lifting his gaze once more. "Maybe we can't..." He started, only to stop as a wisp of blue smoke trailed out of his mouth.

Suddenly, the clearing was filled with tons of ghosts, including Skulker, Ember, Johnny, Shadow, Walker, Desiree, Lydia and many others, each ready to fight. "...but they sure can!" Danny finished with a snarl, firing a large blast towards the Leaguers, who quickly leapt out of the way.

Everyone surged forward, humans, aliens, and ghosts alike.

Phasing into the ground, Danny flew through the dirt and mud before exploding up, ramming his glowing green fist under Superman's chin, sending the man flying backwards. Zooming forward, Danny grabbed his shoulders and threw him down to the ground.

Superman narrowed his eyes as he grabbed Danny's wrists. "Snap out of it, kid!" He shouted. Danny growled and kicked the man hard in the chest, sending him stumbling back in surprise. The Ghost Boy let out a roar of rage before leaping forward once more.

Batman leapt to the side right as Robin's foot smashed into the ground where he had been moments ago. The Boy Wonder narrowed his eyes as he twisted on his heels and kicked the man in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. Batman narrowed his eyes as he grabbed Robin by the back of his cape and dragged him backwards, driving his elbow into the teen's stomach.

Robin grunted in pain before getting thrown to the ground. Batman placed a knee on the teen's chest, securely holding him down to the ground. "Robin, listen to me. You have to fight this." He growled out, hoping the boy could hear him.

Robin curled his hands into fists and dug them into the ground. The only thing I have to fight is you!" He snarled, struggling to escape his captor's hold. Batman sighed inwardly and reached into his belt, fingers grazing the syringe he had stowed away. But before he could pull it out, Robin reached into his own belt and grabbed hold of a pair of ice pellets.

Hurling them up, they made contact with the man's shoulder, encasing it in a layer of ice. Batman reeled back in shock, creating enough of an opening for Robin to scurry out of his grasp and send a roundhouse kick towards the man's face, sending him stumbling backwards. Reaching behind him, he grabbed his staff and twirled it in front of him, facing off against the black-clad hero.

Another crack of thunder sounded overhead, rattling the ground as a streak of lightning illuminated the clearing and everyone in it.

As mentor and apprentice fought, neither of them took too much notice of the other battles raging on around them. Beastboy skidded across the wet grass next to them as he gripped his chest, which was still smoking from Skulker's blaster. Raven clenched her fists and fired a dark black blast of magic at the ghost, only for him to fly into the air, a pair of missiles appearing from his shoulders, aimed straight at the two teens.

Beastboy transformed into an eagle, taking flight into the sky to escape the attack, while Raven disappeared into the ground. Skulker whipped around, trying to locate the girl quickly, only to feel a powerful blow to his back, driving him forward.

Raven narrowed her eyes as she flew back into the air, landing next to Beastboy, who quickly morphed into a tiger, slashing his claws against the ghost's hard metal armor, leaving three long scratch marks along the gleaming surface. The animal quickly rounded about once more and stopped next to the sorceress, reverting back into human form.

Skulker watched as Beastboy stood once more, glaring hard at the ghost "Ah yes, the shapeshifter. I remember you." He said with a sneer. You will make an excellent addition to my collection of rare creatures."

Beastboy clenched his fists and bared his teeth. He vaguely felt Raven place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he stared the ghost down hard. "If there's one thing I hate more than anything...it's hunters." He snarled, transforming into a gorilla as he charged the ghost once more, Raven flying by his side.

A flash of red and green whizzed by them as Starfire flew through the air, a dark black shape in pursuit. She narrowed her electric green eyes and twisted around on her back, firing a barrage of starbolts at her adversary, only to have the Shadow morph and create holes in his own body, the blasts harmlessly passing through.

Suddenly, the ghost was dragged down to the ground. Glaring back up, it's sharp green eyes meeting J'onn's blood-orange ones. The martian's face remained stoic as he transformed into a serpent, hissing furiously at the shadow as it lunged. Shadow growled and flew up as well, the two forces meeting head-on.

Starfire was about to take off to the skies once more to lend aid to her friend, only to get hit in the side by a glowing blue blast. Spinning around, she watched as Johnny revved his bike once more, the two blasters on the sides of the vehicle shining brightly.

Starfire growled as her fists began to glow green. Flying forward, she watched as Johnny swerved out of the way, blasters aimed at her again. Twisting and looping in the air, the blasts narrowly skimmed past her. Diving down, she tackled the ghost off the other bike, watching as it crashed down on the ground. Hoisting the man up by his collar, her eyes sparked with anger.

Johnny smirked at her. "Hey, kid. You're not so bad to look at." He said with a grin.

Starfire merely snarled and threw him back down to the ground. "Our feeling are not shared, then." She growled, surging forward once more.

As another boom of thunder rang out, it was rivaled in strength by the strum of a guitar. Wonder Woman dove to the ground to avoid the soundwaves coming fro the instrument. glaring back up at the teen, she watched Ember lazily strum the strings of her guitar before turning to her.

"I'm really getting tired of this. How about we turn up the volume?" She asked with a grin, whipping her fingers over the strings, a bright purple blast shooting out.

Diana narrowed her eyes and raised her arms, the blasts bouncing off of her cuffs. "I don't really have a taste for your music." She growled, flying forward, ramming her fist into the girl's chest. Ember let out a shout of surprise as she was sent tumbling down to the ground.

Pushing herself up once more, she snarled at the woman, throwing her guitar into the air. But instead of the instrument crashing back down, it hovered in the air like a board. Jumping up, Ember placed her feet on the guitar, the instrument shooting up into the sky, straight for the Amazonian. As she flew, the rocker's hair blazed brightly behind her like the tail of a comet.

But before she could reach the woman, a bright green whip wrapped around her ankle, dragging her back down to the ground. Tucker snapped the whip, a large electrical current surging through the rope and straight to the ghost tangled in it. ember screamed in pain as the currents racked her body.

Tightly curling her fingers around the rope, she yanked tightly on it, the force pulling Tucker forward, where she grabbed onto his collar. He gave her a nervous smile as her eyes began to glow a violent red. But before she could burn him alive, a strong force rammed into her shoulder, sending her skidding across the wet grass.

Diana pushed her soaked hair out of her way, bits of twigs and leaves now embedded in it as she stared down at the teen. Ember roared in rage and grabbed her guitar once more, the edges turning sharp and pointed as it transformed into an axe. Lunging forward, guitar and bracelets met in a strong collision of sparks and light.

The continuous flashing of green lights illuminated the surrounding trees and vegetation as police guards floated around Hawkgirl and Lantern, each with glowing green batons in hand. Narrowing her eyes, Hawkgirl let out a shout of rage as she surged forward, barreling her mace through a group of the ghosts, sending them flying backwards.

Diving down, she spread her wing out as far as they could go, knocking more ghosts to the ground. Lantern shot into the air, firing a barrage of bright green blasts at the ghosts, who twisted and dodged to avoid the blasts. Creating a large cage off to the side, Lantern grabbed hold of a handful of guards and shoved them in, locking the doors with his ring.

Flying back over, more and more guards continued to fly at them, knocking them out of the sky. Landing hard on the ground, they turned to watch the ghosts land on the ground again. Standing back to back, the two Leaguers faced off against the ghosts before lunging forward once more.

Farther down, while Lantern and Hawkgirl were busy keeping the guards busy, Jazz was doing her best to keep Walker from joining the fight. The ghost lunged for her, arms outstretched to grab her shoulders. Sliding under his grasp, she leapt to her feet and twirled her staff, knocking the back of his knees out. He groaned as he fell to the ground.

Leaping over his head, Jazz steadied herself and knees the jailer in the chin, sending him reeling backwards. He growled and grabbed her wrist, flipping her over his head. Landing hard on the ground, Jazz gasped, trying to get breath back into her body after having it violently expelled.

Suddenly, she felt a strong fist grab her by the front of her shirt and haul her into the air. Walker glared at her as their eyes met. She clenched her fists and swung her leg back, kicking him in the chest, the ghost stumbling back. Dropping back down to the floor, she quickly swept his legs out from under him and leapt back into the air, staff twirling above her head before she swung it down once more.

Across the clearing, Cyborg tumbled across the grass, mud and dirt splattering up against his face as he steadied himself and leapt back to his feet. Danny's eyes glowed a deep red as he clenched his fists. But before he could fire, a red blur sped past him, knocking him off of his feet. Crashing to the ground with a thud, he watched Flash stop next to Superman and Sam, who both stood ready.

Jumping to his feet once more, Danny shot to the sky once more, Superman following as the two flew up to the raging storm above their heads. Darkness surrounded them on all sides as they fought in the dark clouds, cracks of lightning illuminating their opponents face for a moment before they fell back into deep blindness.

Feeling his fist connect with the man's cheek, Danny flew forward and rammed his shoulder into the man's chest, feeling the alien fly backwards. Another flash of light shone across the sky, showing Superman's angered eyes. Danny saw the fist a moment too late as it connected with his chest. He was sent shooting backwards into the deep clouds, the thick moisture dripping off of his already soaked body. His hair clung slick to his wet forehead, but it did little to deter him.

His muscles tensed as he scanned the dark clouds, waiting for a flicker of blue or the flash of red. Finally, he caught the glint of Superman's golden belt as the man flew forward. Readying himself, he swerved to the side right before the man passed, grabbing onto his flowing red cape. Another clap of thunder roared overhead as Danny dove back down towards the ground, the alien in tow.

Finally, he released the cape, sending the man shooting towards the ground, where he hit with a loud crash.

Landing back onto the soggy earth, he narrowed his eyes as he glared back at the others. Flash shook his thoughts of doubt away as he rushed forward again, knocking the teen's feet out from under him again. Danny hit the ground with a thud, clenching his fists in anger. Raising his clenched hands, he slammed them back down onto the ground, a thick layer of ice seeping out from around him, coating the already slick grass in ice.

Flash gasped as his feet skidded on the terrain, landing hard on his shoulder. He groaned in pain and clutched his arm, gasping as Danny flew towards him. But before the teen could reach him, a blue blast hit him in the side, sending him flying backwards.

Cyborg and Sam ran towards him, fists clenched as they gazed back at the Ghost Boy. Danny growled at them and charged up his own fists. The three teens engaged in a battle of firing and dodging each other's blasts. Flying into the air, Danny turned intangible as he dove back down, phasing through the ground.

The two whipped around, trying to locate the boy, only to give identical shouts of shock as they were blown off of their feet. Phasing back up from the ground, Danny fired two blasts at the airborne teens, knocking them hard to the ground.

He shut his eyes, allowing himself a moment to breath when he was hit in the side by a red and blue blur. Quickly righting himself, he watched Superman rise once more. He let out a growl of annoyance. "Can't you freaks stay down?!" He snarled, rushing forward once more.

The rain poured down in sheets, slicing through the air sharply, stinging Robin's cheeks as he stumbled backwards. The two faced off against each other once more, both looking a little worse for wear.

Robin had blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth, a long cut slicing across his cheek. His suit was torn in many different places and a long stream of blood dripped down his arm from the slash across his shoulder. Batman's cape was shredded and bloody, the red liquid rolling down his pant leg, a fresh stab wound present in his thigh, courtesy of one of Robin's bird-a-rangs.

The Boy Wonder glared up at the man, narrowing his eyes as he watched Batman leap into the air, foot aimed straight for him. Leaping out of the way, Robin swept the man's legs out from under him as he landed, sending him crashing to the ground.

Grabbing his staff, he pressed a button on the side and three sharp prongs extended from the end. Lunging forward, he aimed the staff at the man's head, Batman swerving at the last second, the prongs stabbing into the wet earth.

Twisting around, Batman kicked Robin in the side, sending him skidding across the mud, dark colors splattering onto the boy's face and clothes. Gritting his teeth, he reached into his belt and pulled out a smoke bomb. Hurling it at the ground, the area was quickly covered in thick black smoke. Leaping into the thick cloud, Robin searched for the man, only to feel a fist connect with his cheek, sending him flying backwards.

Rolling out of the mist, Batman grabbed the boy by the front collar and hoisted him up into the air. Robin swung his leg back and hit the man in the chest, his hold slackening enough for Robin to drop to the ground and leap backwards.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Robin, enough of this. You need to snap out of it!" He shouted, only for the boy to hurl a pair of bird-a-rangs at him. Dropping to the ground quickly to avoid the projectiles, Batman felt Robin's steel-toed boots connect with his chest.

Feet skidding against eh grass, he placed a hand to his chest as he gazed back up at the boy. Robin's fists were clenched in anger, his eyes glowing a bright red. "And you need to stop talking to me!" He snarled, leaping forward once more. Together, the two attacked and dodged each other, feet moving across the earth like a dance.

Finally, Batman lowered himself to the ground, sweeping Robin's legs. As the boy fell forward, Batman caught him and twisted him around, holding his arms behind his back. Robin growled and struggled to escape the hold as Batman lowered his head. "Dick, you have to listen to me." He whispered in the boy's ears.

Robin froze, his muscles tensing in the man's grip. His eyes flickered to icy blue for a millisecond before returning to their blood-red color. Gritting his teeth, he kicked out with his leg, scurrying out of the man's hold. Quickly whipping around to face him, he clenched his fists. "How...how do you know my name?!" He snarled at him, his hand hovering over his utility belt.

Batman narrowed his eyes, realizing he was finally getting somewhere. "Robin, this isn't you. None of it is." He started. "It's Vlad. He's changed you, altered your mind so that you think we're the enemies. But we're not, Dick. None of us are. The real enemy is Vlad." He explained to him.

Robin's eyes furrowed in confusion as Batman's words filled his head. He raised his head as the man continued. "You would never help Vlad. You would never fight the people trying to help you. And you would _never_ hurt your friends." He stated, slowly walking forward. "Come on, Robin. You're smart enough to realize that this isn't right." HE said, gesturing to everything around them.

Robin blinked before following the man's gaze, watching as the Titans and Leaguers fought against the ghosts surrounding them. His eyes flashed blue once more before turning back to Batman. "I know you've been having doubts. You have to have questions. Questions Vlad hasn't answered. And he doesn't answer because he knows if he does, you'll be able to uncover the truth." He explained to him.

Robin took a reflexive step back, wishing to distance himself from the man in front of him as much as he could. But Batman continued anyway. "He's tricked you Robin. He's using you. You're nothing more than a puppet to him, a guard dog." He stated.

Robin shut his eyes and clenched his fists, which were now visibly twitching. Shaking his head, he glared back up at the man. "T...That still doesn't answer my question. _How do you know my name!_ " He shouted.

Batman sighed and took another step forward, dropping all of his defenses. "Because I know you, Dick. I know everything about you. I know you mouth the opening words to the start of the circus act whenever you're lost in thought or nervous. I know you start to crave corn dogs, cotton candy, boiled peanuts and whatever else they would serve at that circus whenever you're stressed. I know how much you hate large over-sized beds compared to the small ones you used to sleep in."

A ghost of a smile graced the man's lips. "I had to buy a whole new bed for you when you moved in. You wouldn't even sleep in the one I gave you when you first moved in. You would just grab a pillow and a blanket and crawl underneath the kitchen table." He described.

Robin's hands slowly drifted away from his belt, violently shaking as he stared at the man in shock.

He took another step forward, causing Robin to take one more backwards. "I know your name, Dick, because I was there when your life came crashing down. H was there to cushion your fall because I saw myself in you." He said softly, placing a hand on the quivering boy's shoulder, keeping him from moving back any more. Robin tensed at the man's touch, yet stayed rooted to the spot.

"I didn't want you to be alone, so I took you in." Batman explained. "I gave you a home. A gave you a family."

Images flashed before the teen's eyes. He shut his eyelids tightly, a painful thumping filling the back of his head. Images of Vlad and Danny standing beside him under that tent, sirens and police lights flashing faded, being replaced with the image of a tall man with dark black hair and piercing blue eyes placing a comforting hand on a crying boy's shoulder.

He gasped in shock and opened his eyes once more, which were now flickering back and forth between crystal blue and crimson red. He groaned in pain as he clutched his head, stumbling backwards. The rain continued to pour down, but it did little to refresh the boy as it rolled down his skin and seeped into his hair. Every droplet felt like a fiery needle stabbing into his skin. It was too hot. It needed to stop. He needed to stop.

Batman kneeled down and grabbed the boy by the shoulders, gently squeezing them as he gazed at the boy. "Dick, it's me. It's Bruce."

Everything froze. Robin felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his heartbeat quickening, if it was even beating at all anymore. To be honest, he couldn't even tell. "B...Bruce?" He repeated the name, the color in his eyes switching violently as all the mental barriers began to come crashing down. A searing pain exploded in the back of his mind.

Clutching his head, he groaned in pain once more as his body was racked with spasms. Batman narrowed his eyes, seeing his only opportunity. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out the syringe and roughly grabbed Robin by the shoulder, yanking him closer. Carefully inserting the needle into the boy's neck, he released the liquid inside, pulling the syringe out quickly, throwing it down onto the ground.

Robin squirmed out of his grasp and placed a hand to his neck. "What...what was that?" He asked.

Suddenly, he felt his vision get hazy. His surroundings became unfocused and blurry as his legs began to feel weak. The surrounding sounds of the fight began to sound distant and far away, almost as if he were underwater. "W...what...did you...do to ...me?" He asked, his words slurring as he felt his strength deplete. His legs buckled and he felt himself falling, only to be stopped as arms wrapped around him.

He groaned as he cracked open his eyes, shapes and colors blending into one. The rain hit his face, rolling down his cheeks, his nose, his chin. His dark black hair clung to his forehead as everything began to fade. His fingers twitched before falling slack, his eyes shutting as his head slumped backwards and hung limply, Batman's arm the only thing supporting it.

The man stared down at the soaked teen in his arms, his stomach clenching as he gazed at his ward, brushing a few stray strands of wet black hair out of the teens' eyes. "I'm going to help you, Dick. I promise." He whispered, clutching the boy tightly to his chest.

"I _have_ told you guys how much I HATE dragons, right?" Flash shouted to the others, zooming out of the way as the black dragon fired another blast at them. The others sighed in exasperation, although the feeling was mutual. After the events of the summer, dragons were not at the top of their lists of _Animals We Should See More Often._

It also didn't help that they also had to deal with a weather ghost that seemed to have taken one to many lightning bolts to the head, as well at the ghosts which were already giving them trouble. So, while Sam, Tucker, Hawkgirl, Lantern, Cyborg, Raven and Beastboy dealt with the weather ghost, the others tried to keep a handle on the dragon. Wonder Woman flew forward, deflecting another blast with her bracelets before hitting the reptile hard in the side of the head.

The dragon roared in rage, swinging it's tail towards the group, knocking them backwards. Farther down the clearing, the others were doing what they could to not be burned to a crisp. Vortex laughed as he watched the heroes dodge another blast, skidding across the wet grass once more.

Suddenly, a bright green blast knocked them off of their feet. Glancing up, they watched Danny hover in the air above them, fists glowing green as a sneer spread onto his face. "Had enough yet?" He shouted down to them.

Beastboy stood back up, brushing himself off. "No way! I could do this all day." He shouted, ears flattening when he saw Danny float closer. "But I'd really rather not." He added, letting out a shout of shock as he was blown off of his feet by another blast.

Landing back down on the ground, he faced off against the group once more, only to stop when he noticed Batman from the corner of his eyes, the others taking notice as well. The man cradled a soaked boy in his arms, his messy black hair clinging to his forehead, his head rolling limply as the man walked forward.

"Robin!" Danny shouted, muscles tensing as he prepared to shoot over, only to have strong arms wrap around him and hold him back. Craning his head, he watched Superman drag him back while the others ran over to Batman, simultaneously avoiding attacks from the dragon and weather ghost alike.

Danny struggled and squirmed against the man's grip. "Let me go!" He shouted, eyes locked on Robin as he watched Batman discuss something hurriedly with the others. Flash nodded and zoomed off into the trees. The others circled around Batman, intent on protecting the boy he held in his arms as they fought off against the attacks.

Danny continued to fight against Superman's steel grip. Finally, his mind registered his ghost powers and he turned intangible, phasing out of the man's grip. Twisting around, he kicked the alien in the chin, sending him stumbling backwards. Turning around once more, he prepared to speed off, only to feel someone grab his foot and hurl him to the ground.

Suddenly, the roar of engines filled the air as a large Javelin lowered down into the clearing. The others quickly rushed in, activating the shield and defense mechanisms to defend against the ghosts, which continued to attack the jet. Superman quickly flew over to the jet, rushing inside as the bay doors closed.

Danny gasped, eyes widening as he saw the Javelin begin to rise into the air. His eyes glowed dangerously as he prepared to fly after it, only to feel a strong hand grip his wrist. Twisting around, he came face to face with Vlad.

He wrenched his hand away. "What are you doing? They have Robin! We have to go after them and-" He never finished as Vlad reared his fist back and unleashed a powerful ecto-blast. The blow hit Danny in the chest, sending him flying backwards, the back of his head connecting with the stone walls of the mansion's outer wall.

His body crumpled to the ground as his eyes drooped close. Vlad glared up at the sky in disgust, watching the Javelin fly away. He growled, cursing silently before turning to the others. "Get him down to the labs." He instructed. The other ghosts nodded as they moved towards the boy. "And prepare the special batch of serum."

His eyes narrowed. "We need to do this quickly before this setback ruins everything."


	23. Chapter 23: Burnt Memories

**Chapter 23: Burnt Memories**

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **Two hours later**

Injecting the needle into the boy's arm, Batman watched the red liquid slowly fill the syringe. Gently pulling it back out, he covered the injection sight and gazed at the teen once more. His wounds had been washed and wrapped shortly after returning to the tower. He was currently lying in one of the beds in the medical wing, his wrists cuffed to the metal bars of the bed, ensuring he didn't injure himself or anybody else when he woke up.

Batman sighed, pulling the white sheets up onto the boy's body before exiting the room. Walking down the hallway, he entered the main labs, the others anxiously waiting inside. Quickly standing when Batman entered, they watched the man stride across the room and grab a small thin container, carefully emptying the contents of the needle into the test tube, capping off the end.

Walking over to the other side of the room, the others quietly walking behind him, he pressed a button on one of the large machines, a small compartment opening up. Placing the tube onto one f the empty slots, he pressed another button, the compartment retracting back into the machine. Walking over to the large computer next to the machine, he typed up a series of commands and information before a chart of different results and information popped up.

His eyes scanned the screen, trying to locate what was wrong. "Blood cell count is normal. Platelets, enzymes too." He narrowed his eyes and typed in another round of commands into the computer, different photos appearing on the screen.

The others in the room moved closer when they saw the photo of the brain scan they had performed on Robin when they'd brought him in. Next to the image was the photo of a regular brain. Batman growled when he saw the images. "This is going to be harder than we thought."

Cyborg furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?" He asked, the others walking closer.

Batman raised a hand to motion to the images. "Here, look at the image of this brain." He said, gesturing to the picture on the left. The brain seemed to have a normal combination of colors and nerves, a bright yellow color mainly dominant. "Then look at Robin's." He growled.

Next to the image was a brain of a different color. Instead of the bright hues and shades, the colors were a dark blue, small streaks of yellows and reds scattered throughout. "That serum is affecting his brain, mainly the medial temporal lobe and the amygdala, the main parts of the brain that control memory and emotion." He explained to them.

"That's why the boys are so hostile when they see us. That's why they won't believe any of us." He stated. "That serum's altered them to think that we're the enemy. That Vlad's their ally."

Starfire clenched her fists and flew forward. "But it is not true! We would never harm our friends. And Vlad is certainly not their ally. He is a monster! And our friends know this! They know better than this!" She shouted, not wanting to accept it.

Superman sighed. "But they don't." He stated gently. "They truly believe Vlad's their friend. Which makes us their enemy." He explained, the words seeming to stab a hole into the alien girl's heart as she slowly descended back to the ground, realizing her ability to fly had now become compromised.

Sam pinched the bridge of her nose before raising her head once more. "So you mean they don't remember anything? At all?" She asked.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "No, they don't." He crossed the room once more. "But something happened to Robin when I started to talk to him about the past." He explained. The Titans glanced at each other curiously. Robin's past was something none of them knew, for the boy never shared it with anybody.

"When I began to replay memories and moments from back then, he...he almost seemed to relapse. Those memories aren't gone, they're just buried deep, under all those false ones that have been implanted." He voiced, turning back to the others. "Flash, do you think you might be able to create an antidote from Robin's blood?" He asked.

The red-clad man rubbed the back of his neck as he considered the request. "I don't know. Maybe...I mean, I'll have to isolate the main part of the serum and reverse engineer it." He explained. "It might take a while."

"How long are we talking?" Batman growled.

Flash took a reflexive step backwards at the man's growl before answering hesitantly. "At least a couple days." He said, a small smirk appearing on his face. "I am pretty fast, after all."

The others rolled their eyes before turning back to Batman. "Get started right away. I don't know what other effects that serum might have on him. The longer we wait, the more his old memories burn away. If we don't do something soon, they'll be eradicated."

The Titans gasped at this, fearful for their leader...and friend.

Batman turned to the teens. "His memories with your teen will be the most recent. Meaning they were either the first to go, or they'll be the last. Nevertheless, I need you all to see if you can get through to him." He instructed. "Try and get him to remember. See if he can fight off the serum himself."

The Titans glanced at each other before nodding in understanding. Superman walked forward, placing his hands on the teens' shoulders. "You kids should go and get some rest. We'll get you when Robin wakes up." He said gently.

The teens hesitated before nodding reluctantly, slowly trudging out of the room, the automatic doors closing behind them.

Batman sighed as he grabbed a seat in front of one of the computers, placing his head in his hands. The Leaguers stopped what they were doing and walked over to the man. Diana placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's gong to be alright, Bruce. We're going to help him. Both of them." She said reassuringly.

John crossed his arms. "Yeah, man. We'll find a cure."

Wally nodded. "I promise I'll do whatever I can." He said, his tone serious, lacking its usual cheeriness and humor.

Batman pulled the mask off of his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, laying into the back of the chair. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying to tame the migraine that was beginning to bloom in the back of his head.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to have the words die in his throat. He swallowed the bile that was beginning to rise and lowered his head once more, rubbing his eyes as he tried to figure out what they were going to do. What _he_ was going to do.

* * *

 **The Underground (Labs)**

Danny struggled against the restraints as he sat strapped to the steel table. His mind reeled in panic for some reason, a deep pit opening in his stomach when he had woken up to find himself restrained. For some reason it made a burst of panic and dread explode in his heart.

He stopped struggling when he watched Vlad and Spectra walk into the room, both of their faces void of any emotion. Danny narrowed his eyes before clenching his fists. "Vlad! What are you doing? Why are we just sitting here?" He shouted angrily, his messy black hair falling into his face.

"They took Robin! We have to do something! Who knows what those monsters will do to him now that they have him?" He asked frantically, shock coursing through him when Vlad did nothing to signify he had even heard the teen, continuing to mill around the lab.

He grit his teeth. "What's the matter with you? Don't you care at all?!" He snarled, his fingernails digging into his palms, leaving crescent-shaped indents. Flashing images of past dreams appeared before his eyes before vanishing.

He felt a feeling of hate beginning to stir in his heart as he gazed at the man, a burning sensation beginning to grow in the back of his mind as his eyes flashed blue. He stared at the man, who simply stared back at him. "Y...you." Danny breathed quietly.

"W...what...what did you do?" He whispered, his body beginning to shake as images began to flash in his mind, the serum's effect beginning to wash off at the sudden flare of emotion he had felt for the man. The pure hate that bloomed when looking at him.

Vlad narrowed his eyes before turning to Spectra, who handed him a strange syringe with a glowing red liquid inside, different from the normal green injections. Vlad sighed as he walked forward, lazily swinging the needle around. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this." He muttered.

"But it seems I'm left with no choice. Now that they have the boy back, we'll no longer be able to use him." He explained. "Meaning there's no longer any reason for you to remember him." He said with a wicked grin. Danny's eyes widened in realization as he craned his neck, trying to place as much distance as he could in between him and the syringe. "No!" He shouted as he felt the small prick on the side of his neck.

As the liquid was injected into his veins, he gasped in pain, the heat suddenly exploding around him as it wrapped around his body, suffocating him in fiery pain. He shut his eyes tightly and clenched his shaking fists, letting out a scream of pure agony as his body was engulfed in heat.

Finally, he uncurled his fists as the pain subsided, letting out a gasp of relief and exhaustion. Raising his head once more, he revealed eyes that were completely red, the skin around them cracking as red light seeped out. He blinked a few times before staring at Vlad, confusion evident on his face. "Vlad?" He asked.

"What's going on?"

The man smiled before undoing the restraints. "Just some precautions, my dear boy." he explained. "We had to make sure you were alright after that fight with the Titans." He stated, watching as Danny scoffed in disgust. "Figures." He growled.

Walking over to the door, Danny stopped when Vlad called his name. "Just a little question for you, Daniel. Do you know who Robin is?" He asked.

Danny rolled his eyes. "He's that know-it-all leader of those idiot Titans. Why do you ask?"

Vlad shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "No reason. Now head upstairs and get some rest." He instructed, Danny nodding in understanding before disappearing. The elder-halfa chuckled as he walked back into the lab, Spectra's arms crossed over her chest. "I don't see what you're so happy about. We just lost one of our pawns." She growled.

Vlad smirked. "Don't worry. We have the most important one. Besides, pawns are easily knocked over." He said with a smile.

Spectra narrowed her eyes. "What did you do?"

Vlad folded his arms behind his back. "Just a little fail-safe I placed in the serums." He explained to her. "You see, once a dose of the serum is administered to someone, it becomes vital. More and more doses are needed to sustain the user. If you simply cut off the supply, especially after having received so much, well...let's just say it won't be a present experience for either Robin or those heroes." He said with a grin, walking out of the room.

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **Three hours later**

Bright white lights filtered in through his cracked eyes. He groaned as he blinked repeatedly, trying to clear his vision as he opened his eyes. Once his eyes had adjusted to the harsh lights overhead, he took a moment to survey his surroundings

White walls surrounded him on all sides, counters lines up against them. On top, different computers and machines stood, many of them hooked up to him. A heart monitor beeped quickly next to him. Glancing down, he saw that his injuries had been cleaned and wrapped. He was currently in a white hospital bed, strong silver cuffs clamped around his wrists and ankles, tying him down to the rails of the bed.

His heart quickened when he saw the cuffs, trying and failing to escape them. Glancing down, he also realized that his utility belt had been removed, along with any chance of escaping. He scanned the room once more, eyes searching for anything that might help him. But his eyes only fell on a large mirror across the room, undoubtedly allowing any others outside to peek into the room.

He furrowed his brow as he tried to remember the last thing that had happened before waking up in the strange place. There was a fight...the Titans...the Justice League...Batman...Danny!

He gasped and pulled at his cuffs once more, the metal digging into his skin as he fought at the restraints. "Danny..." He whispered to himself, realizing the boy was not in the room with him. Had they gotten him too Was he even here?

He narrowed his eyes and glared at the mirror, including those that might be behind it. "Where am I? What do you want?" He shouted to nobody in particular. After a few moments of silence, the boy realized there was nothing to do but sit back and wait for somebody to enter.

He sighed and rested his head back down onto the pillow. He shut his eyes and tried calming the thumping in the back of his head as well as the slight tingling sensation under his skin. His chest ached painfully for a moment before returning to normal. He wondered about it for a moment before shrugging it off as the door across the room opened.

He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists as Superman opened the doors and stepped aside, Cyborg, Starfire, Beastboy and Raven entering silently. The red and blue clad man slowly closed the door behind him before going over to stand by the window. Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Batman and Diana stared intently at the scene before them.

Starfire blinked a few times before taking a hesitant step forward, her heart clenching when she saw Robin tense his muscles. "Robin?" She called quietly.

The boy growled and clenched his fists. "What are you doing here?" He snarled at them, eyes narrowed in suspicion and hatred. "What do you want?"

Cyborg placed a gently hand on Starfire's shoulder before walking forward. "We just want to talk to you, Robin. That's all." He said quietly, only to have Robin roll his eyes. "I'm not going to listen to any of your lies. You're tricks still won't work on me." He growled at them, wondering they still continued the charade.

Beastboy flattened his ears. "But they're not tricks!" He shouted, hoping for the teen to listen. "It's real. It's the truth. We're really your friends." He said desperately, pleading for his friend to come back.

Robin shut his eyes and turned his head away, but that didn't stop the Titans from continuing anyway. "Robin, you have to try and remember. We're your friends. We've been friends ever since Starfire crashed on Earth." Raven explained.

Starfire walked forward once more, speaking quietly. "Do you not remember that day, Robin? It was strange. I was scared." She confessed. "But my friends helped me. _You_ helped me." She said softly. "Robin, you are my best friend. Please try to remember." She placed a hand on the soft covers.

Robin furrowed his brows in confusion as her words seeped in. He shook his head of the strange feelings before glaring back at the Titans. Cyborg bit the inside of his cheek before his eyes widened, an idea beginning to bloom in his head. He pulled the other Titans aside and began to whisper something to them. Robin narrowed his eyes as he watched them converse, beginning to prepare himself for anything.

Returning to the side of the bed once more, Cyborg gazed down at the teen. "You might not want to remember, but it's all true Robin." He said. "Every battle we've fought, every game night, movie night, sleepless night was real." He said, hoping to convince the boy.

Starfire's green eyes glossed over as she spoke. "When my sister arrived on Earth, you were the one to comfort me on the roof." He explained to him. "You helped me understand Earthly ways and customs. You helped my make Earth my home."

Cyborg smiled. "Yeah, man. You have to remember when our bodies got switched. Or when we were captured by Mad Mod and placed in his school." He said with a smirk, old memories beginning to resurface.

Raven flew forward. "Or when the prophecy arose. You swore to keep me safe. To help be overcome it. You believed in me when nobody else did, even when I didn't" She said, hoping to break through the red haze that infected the teen's mind.

Beastboy smiled sadly. 'Or Terra. Do you remember her? She...she became one of us. A friend. She...she gave her life to save us." He said, wondering how the boy could forget so much. Robin clenched his fists as the back of his mind thumped loudly.

He groaned in pain as images began to flash in front of his eyes. His stomach churned painfully and for a moment he wondered whether he would be able to keep the bile down. The Titans jumped in surprise when they heard the heart monitor begin to beep faster. A bead of sweat rolled down the boy's temple.

Raven narrowed her eyes and moved closer. "That's right, Robin. Come on, fight this. Fight it!" She shouted.

Cyborg turned to the others. "Come on, I think it's working." He said as they moved closer.

"Remember when Mumbo captured us and turned us all into circus animals?" Beastboy asked. "It's kind of hard to forget that." He said with a small grin.

Raven's fingers twitched. "Or Slade. Do you remember Slade. Do you remember trying your hardest to capture him? The feeling that he hadn't quite left?" She asked. "All those sleepless night? Or when he infected you with a toxin that kind of made you go a bit insane?"

Cyborg grabbed the railings along the side of the bed, leaning closer. "What about the summer? Do you remember that? Finding Danny and the others? Fighting the freaking Justice League?" He shouted. "What about all those demon monsters?" He asked before rubbing the back of his neck. "Actually, I might want to forget about some of that." He said, the others shuddering in agreement.

Starfire moved closer and grabbed the shaking boy's hand, feeling it tense at the touch. "Robin, do you remember any of this? We are your friends. Your family." She said desperately, forest green eyes filling with tears.

Robin opened his eyes and gazed at the teens around him. His hand twitched as more images flashed before his eyes. Suddenly, a fiery pain exploded in the back of his head, spreading down to his neck and back, covering him in heat. He groaned in pain, his eyes flickering from red to blue then back to red. He instantly felt a scorching flame grab his heart and curl its claws into it.

He dug his fingers into the bed before raising his head, gritting his teeth in fury as his eyes sparked with unadulterated rage. "Shut up!" He snarled, startling the Titans with the power behind the words and his gaze. "No! You're lying! It's not true!" He screamed, wanting nothing more than to destroy the teens in front of him.

"You're liars! Everything you say! I'm not going to fall for your tricks! I'm not." He roared. The Titans felt themselves shrinking back at the amount of hatred spewing out of the teen. Beastboy flattened his ears and pressed his back into the door, the waves of fury making him sick.

"Get. Out." Robin snarled darkly.

Cyborg took a step forward. "Robin..." He started.

"Get out. Get out! GET OUT!" He screamed, his eyes blazing in red light. The heart monitors and machines hooked up to him began to beep like crazy as everything exploded in lights and sounds.

The Titans, realizing they might be doing more harm than good, quickly exited the roof, letting out a breath they didn't know they had been holding. Cyborg sighed and placed a hand to his head, turning to the other heroes. "This is going to be a _lot_ harder than we thought." He groaned.

Batman narrowed his eyes and placed a hand to his chin, turning his head to gaze back at the boy in the room, whose chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath, fear evident in his eyes.

Starfire wrapped her arms around herself before lowering her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. Jazz walked forward and wrapped an arm around the girl, leading her down the hall. Superman walked forward. "Let's head back to the labs. See if Flash's found anything out." He told them.

The teens hesitated for a moment before nodding, slowly following the man down the hallway towards the lab doors. Diana stopped when she noticed Batman's lack of movement. "Bruce?" She called. The man narrowed his eyes before turning to her. "I'm going to talk to him."

She tilted her head. "Is that wise? You saw how he reacted to the Titans. What if-"

"I'm going in."

She sighed, realizing it was a pointless battle to try and convince the man, especially if his ward was in the equation. She nodded her head. "Alright, I'll tell the others to stay away from here until you're done." She said, pressing a button on the controls below the window. A large metal panel lowered from above the window and covered the glass.

Batman nodded his appreciation before turning back to the door. Diana hesitated before walking out of sight.

Placing his gloved hand on the doorknob, he slowly twisted the handle before pushing the door open. Robin instantly tensed when he heard the door open, only to stare in confusion when he saw Batman walk in, locking the door behind him. "You?" He asked, watching the man walk over to some of the machines and check their reading, staying silent.

He was about to snap at the man that he wouldn't listen to any stories but instantly shut his mouth. _If I want to get out of here, I'm going to need to play this smarter._ He told himself. _Maybe if I go along with this, I'll get out of here faster. Get back to Danny and Vlad._

His mind scanned over the words the man had said before, trying to find something to use. Watching as the masked man continued to mill around the room, checking the different machines, he bit the inside of his mouth before speaking hesitantly. "So...ummm...where...where do I live, _according to you?"_ He muttered the last few words under his breath, Batman catching them nonetheless.

The man glanced at the teen warily before answering. "You used to live in Gotham with me. Most recently, you live in Jump City with the Titans." He explained. Robin tilted his head. "Used to? Did something happen?" He asked, only slightly interested.

Batman turned his head away from the machines for a moment before continuing. "You'd been my apprentice for a while. I could tell you were getting antsy, wanted to be thought of something other than just _'Batman's sidekick'._ So, after a few choice words were shared between us, you decided to strike it out on your own in Jump. Not long after that did you meet the Titans." He revealed, walking away from the counter. He grabbed one of the nearby chairs and moved it over to the side of the bed. "We just recently resolved our little _'issue'_."

The silence in the room was broken by the sound of soft chuckling. He turned to Robin, an incredulous look on the boy's face. "Man, how much time did you guys spend coming up with these stories?" He asked with a smirk.

Batman sighed and shook his head. _How can he still not believe?_ He asked himself.

Robin furrowed his brow at the look on the man's face, internally debating with himself over the words he was about to say. He didn't want to give his captors the satisfaction, but he had to know the answers to his question. A small smirk appeared on his face when he finally came up with a compromise.

"Hey."

Batman raised his head to look at the boy.

"How about this? If you really want me to believe anything you're saying, then I'll need some more proof on what you're saying." He explained. "If you can answer some questions about me, questions only someone who _really_ knows me would understand, then...I'll... _consider_ what you say to be a _possibility_."

A small, almost nonexistent smile appeared on the man's face.

At least it was a start.

"Alright, shoot." Batman said, leaning against the back of the chair.

Robin nodded, a small smirk appearing on his face, confident in his plan to trip up the man. "Alright, let's start with an easy one. What's my name? My _real_ name." He asked. He doubted anybody other than Danny and Vlad actually knew his real name. Although he still couldn't piece together how the man had been able to find out his nickname was Dick.

Batman rolled his eyes. "Richard Grayson."

Robin blinked back his shock and shook his head before clearing his throat. "Umm...okay, how old am I?" He asked.

"Fifteen."

"What's my favorite color?"

"Red."

"Favorite book?"

"Dracula." Batman smirked slightly at that.

"Favorite food?"

"Basically any TV dinner." The man said, rolling his eyes. He remembered the fit Alfred had thrown when he had discovered what the young boy loved to eat, seeing it as unworthy. "Although, Alfred's peanut butter and chocolate chunk cookies quickly became a close second."

Robin blinked. "Alfred?"

Batman nodded. "An old friend." He explained. Robin furrowed his brow. The name seemed familiar, too familiar. He shook his head and turned back to Batman. "Alright, I'll give you those. Now let's move on to something a bit more challenging." He said with a smirk, but inwardly he was confused. How did this man know so much about him?

Nevertheless, he shook the feeling away as he readied himself once more for another round.

"Okay, why do I call myself Robin?"

"It was a family name."

"How old was I when my parents died?"

"Eight."

"Who killed my parents?" He asked, not expecting an answer. After all, Vlad had taken him away from the scene, away from the town quickly. He had never looked back, never tried to think about it. He waited for the man to say that it was merely an accident, but the answer he gave made him freeze.

"Tony Zucco."

He stared at the man with wide eyes. "What?" He whispered.

Batman raised his head as he watched the teen freeze in shock. The man hesitated for a moment before he reached up and pulled the mask off of his face, revealing bright blue eyes and dark black hair. Robin blinked in surprise before listening to the man once more.

"Tony Zucco was a sleazy con-man looking to collect money from whoever he could get his greedy hands on. And he set his eyes on your parents." He explained quietly. "But when your parents refused...he decided to take...more extreme measures."

Robin shut his eyes tightly as he took a shuddering breath. _Calm down, Grayson. Remember, it's not real. It's just a trick._ He tried convincing himself, but something in the back of his mind, he could tell there was more to this than what he thought.

"How did you end up adopting me?" He paused at this question, finding himself genuinely interested in the answer.

"I attended the circus for that night. Everything seemed to be going fine until...well...you know." He said quietly. Robin lowered his gaze as he fiddled with the blankets. "Anyway, after the incident, I found out that you didn't have anyone else to look out for you. So...I decided to take you in, give you a home." He explained.

Robin furrowed his brow. "So...how did I become your apprentice?" He asked.

Bruce smirked. "Well...after a couple weeks, I guess you saw Alfred open the passage to the Bat-Cave. Being as curious as you are, you wandered down there and saw me. I had currently been following up a lead on Zucco and you found out. You wanted to join me. You wanted to make him pay. I soon realized you had potential."

Robin tapped his fingers on the bed thoughtfully, trying to figure out how the man knew so much about him. He knew things that he hadn't told anybody. Not even Danny. He raised his head once more. "Who...who are you?" He asked, wondering whether it was a stupid question. He felt as if he should know the man's name, but it wouldn't come to his mind.

"Bruce. Bruce Wayne." The man said quietly.

Robin's eyebrows creased. That name seemed so familiar, yet so foggy at the same time. "Bruce Wayne..." He mouthed quietly to himself.

"Dick..."

He raised his eyes when he heard the man say his name. "I need you to try and understand what I'm saying. Just listen, forget everything Vlad's fed you and try to hear with unbiased ears." He pleaded.

Without his mask, Robin could see the man's brilliant blue eyes. They practically mirrored his own. They looked tired, defeated in a sense. In that moment, the boy understood why the man wore a mask. It wasn't just to protect his identity. It was so others couldn't see the pain and fear that lingered in them.

"Vlad isn't your friend, your ally. And we're not your enemies. I've known you since you were a child, Dick." He said, reaching his hand up. Dick watched the man's fingers grab at the corners of his mask. Normally, he would immediately struggle and move away, but for some reason, he felt...calm. The man...Bruce, he made him feel calm.

As he felt the mask peel away from his skin, he felt a sense of familiarity, almost as if the action had been performed millions of times before by the man. He blinked a couple of times before raising his gaze to stare at the man in front of him.

"You've always been curious. Full of hope, of strength, of determination. It's one of the things that makes you so stubborn. One of the things that makes you such a great leader. And that's what you are, Dick. You're a leader. A leader to those teens, to your family." He explained, his voice gentle and strong at the same time.

Dick watched as Bruce reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small metal device that resembled a flashdrive. Gently grabbing the boy's wrists, he placed the device into the cuffs. Dick's ears twitched when he heard the cuffs click and fall limply to the bed.

He stared at the man in shock as he rubbed his wrists. "Why...why did you do that?" He asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. "What's to stop me from running out that door right now?" He ventured.

Bruce stared at him. "Because you want answers. Answers to questions Vlad always avoids. Answers you can't get anywhere else. Besides, if you do go running out of here, there's a whole group of superpowered people and aliens to stop you. And even if you managed to get past them, you're in the middle of a tower floating through space. I'm guessing it will prove a little difficult to get any phone service." Bruce explained with a smirk.

Dick felt a small smile creep onto his face as he chuckled slightly before reprimanding himself.

Bruce took a deep breath before gently grabbing the boy's wrist, running his thumb over the teen's hand, an action he had performed millions of times in the past whenever the teen was conflicted or upset. It was an action Dick reflexively leaned into, never once feeling the notion to pull away.

"Dick, please. Try and fight this. You know there's more going on than what Vlad's told you. You _know_ it. And deep down, you know everything I'm saying is true. You just don't want to accept it." He explained as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, placing an arm around the boy, who once again, made no move to get away. "Lupta cu acest lucru, mica mea pasăre." _Fight this, my little wing. "_ Te rog întoarce-te la mine." _Please come back to me._

Dick sighed and placed his head onto the man's shoulder. "Nu știu ce-i drept mai." _I don't know what's right anymore. "Sunt așa confuz." I'm so confused._ He said quietly before quickly lifting his head, staring at the man next to him. "What was that?!" He shouted in confusion.

Bruce chuckled slightly. "Romanian."

Dick furrowed his brow. "How the heck did I know how to speak that?" He asked, gazing back at the man. Bruce sighed. "I told you, there's more going on here than what Vlad's told you."

Dick sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Bruce reached towards the boy's mask and placed it back on the teen's face. "You should get some rest, Dick." He said quietly, rising to his feet. Dick watched as the man reached behind him and placed his own mask back over his head, covering up his eyes and emotions once more, becoming Batman once again.

Robin fiddled with the blankets for a moment in hesitation before raising his head. "Wait."

Batman stopped and turned his head.

"You...you'll come back tomorrow, right?" He asked. There were still so many questions that had yet to be answered. So many truths to be revealed to him. He wanted to understand. He needed to understand.

Batman showed a small smile and nodded his head before shutting off the lights, walking out of the room, the door closing behind him. Robin took in a shuddering breath before laying his head down on the pillow, his mind drifting off into an uneasy slumber. He never noticed the warm sensation that was steadily growing in the back of his mind, spreading out to the rest of his body as it began to crave a certain green serum.

* * *

 **Well there you go. Some intense moments with the Titans as well as some fluff between Batman and Robin, which is undoubtedly the most adorable kind of fluff there is. I will fight** ** _anyone_** **who says otherwise! :D**

 **Anyway, the next chapter should be out sometime next weekend. Maybe if I get lucky I'll be able to get it out earlier. But just a little snippet of info, the next chapter is going to be intense. Nevertheless, I'm sure it will be satisfying for you all.**

 **So..stay tuned for the next installment of...**

 **The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions!**


	24. Chapter 24: Changing Hearts

**Chapter 24: Changing Hearts**

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **6:35 p.m.**

Batman paced back and forth, his fingers twitching in agitation. The soft sound of his shoes clicking against the tiles underneath could be heard throughout the entire room. "Anything?" He growled out, turning his head to glare at Flash.

The speedster sighed and twisted the chair around, raising a hand to his head. "No. Whatever this serum is, it's a strong one." He confessed. "And it's definitely _not_ normal. So until I can isolate a main strand of its key ingredient, there's no way I can begin to start coming up with an antidote."

Diana furrowed her brow. "Why can't you isolate it?" She asked.

Flash sighed and pulled down his cowl, seeing as the heroes in the room already knew of his identity. Besides, the feeling of it around him was beginning to suffocate him, especially with the high tensions in the room. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The only sample we can get of the serum came from Robin's blood, but he's received so much of it that it's beginning to mingle into his bloodstream, blend into it." He explained.

"And to...' _un-blend_ ' it, I'll have to be able to separate it from his blood, not to mention analyze it so that I can find the key component."

Batman narrowed his eyes, staying silent as he continued to pace.

Superman stepped forward. "So...what does that mean for Robin?" He asked, the others wondering the same thing. Wally sighed once more. "So far, I haven't found anything deadly...yet." He muttered. "But, this just means he's going to stay this way for a lot longer than I anticipated."

Batman stopped pacing and turned to the others. "But he's not staying the same." He told them, the others turning to him in confusion. "Yesterday, when the Titans talked to him, he reacted how we all expected. He was hostile and defensive. But..." He paused before continuing. "When I started to talk to him, he...he seemed...like himself." He revealed.

"He's still in there somewhere, and somehow, I was able to bring it out, at least a small part of it." He explained.

Shayera cocked her head. "So how come that didn't happen with his team?" She asked.

Batman narrowed his eyes and placed a hand to his chin. "Maybe it has to do with his memories and their timeline. Think about it, his memories with the Titans are the most recent. The serum might have attacked those most recent ones first. It then spread to the rest of them, but his memories with me are farther back. Deeper. That might explain why they're not as affected."

J'onn stepped forward. "If that is true, then why does he not believe the Titans? If he trusts you, then he must know you're not lying."

Batman sighed. "Because the serum's still in effect. It still has a hold on him. Everything in him is saying the Titans are his enemies, that you all are his enemies. Even that _I'm_ his enemy. But...I've convinced him to start trusting me. Maybe I can convince him to start trusting the rest of you." He theorized.

John scoffed. "Well you _are_ the only one he lets get close to him. Every time us or the Titans try, it gets ugly."

Batman nodded gravely when they heard the sound of rapid beeping, signifying the lab doors were opening. Wally replaced his mask on his head as the doors opened, revealing the Titans, tired looks on all of their faces. They had recently been trying to convince Robin once more.

It had _not_ ended well.

Raven turned to Batman, her voice sounding even _more_ depressed than usual. "He wants to talk to you."

Batman glanced at the Leaguers for a moment before briskly stalking out of the room.

* * *

 **Masters' Mansion**

 **6:37 p.m.**

Strands of black hair licked at his forehead as he sat on the roof, his back pressed up against the chimney. His eyes were locked on the fiery orb that was slowly sinking into the ocean of rolling trees that extended out before him. The sky was stained with a mixture of reds, yellows and pinks. He sighed and drank in the scent of fresh pine trees mingled with the brisk air.

Winter was on the brink. Soon the trees would become bare, dead and barren against a beautiful white background. The trees were already beginning to show the first signs of death, the tips of the leaves crinkling and melting into different shades of gold, brown and red.

For some reason, winter was Danny's favorite season, ignoring the blatant stain that was Christmas. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why the holiday irked him so much, but it felt...right to dislike it. Nevertheless, winter would always hold a place in his heart.

Maybe it was the crisp clean air that followed. Maybe it was the beautiful blankets of snow that always fell. But mostly, it was the feeling that everything around him, the grass, the leaves, the trees, they were all in a dead state like he was. It made him feel...normal.

Glancing up, he noticed the sun's last rays be snuffed out as it disappeared in the trees. Farther above his head, the sky was becoming a beautiful midnight-blue, the first stars already beginning to peek out. He sighed in content and placed his arms under his head, laying his back down on the tiles of the roof, beginning his all-time favorite activity.

Stargazing.

Far below the boy, many of the ghosts milled in and out of the mansion, completing whatever menial, annoying or time-consuming job Vlad had assigned them.

Skulker and Ember flew out of the forest, scowls on both of their faces. The hunter folded his arms over his chest. "I don't understand the point in searching. Those ' _heroes'_ are long gone." He grumbled.

Ember nodded. "I know. Plasmius probably just felt like sending us on a wild goose chase." She narrowed her eyes and lowered her gaze before lifting it to stare at the mechanical ghost. "Why are we doing this, Skulker? What's the point? If I wanted to get annoyed by a halfa, I would have just gone back to messing with the Dipstick." She smirked.

Skulker sighed. "I know. I hate Plasmius just as much as you do, but right now, this is about survival. For the time being, this is one of the most powerful groups of ghosts. And so far, their plan is working. I mean, have you ever heard of a plan to get the kid going right?" He asked, Ember crossing her arms at that.

"Right now, they actually have a chance to win this. And once they do, they'll begin to take over everything." He explained. "So I'd rather not have them conquer my island and take everything from me when they come for the Zone. So, if I have to put up with Plasmius for my own preservation, then I'll do it." He grumbled.

Ember sighed and turned away, her eye catching a shape above her head. She narrowed her eyes when she saw a teen laying on the roof, seeming to stare at the night sky. She turned to Skulker, her eyes never leaving Danny's form. "Hey...I'm going to head up there."

Skulker cocked an eye. "Why?"

Ember shrugged her shoulder. "Plasmius said the closer we get to him, the more we hurt him."

Skulker scoffed. "If you can tolerate dealing with him, then _you're_ the real hero." He grumbled before floating into the mansion. Ember rolled her eyes before floating up towards the roof. She watched as Danny cracked open one eye, a smile appearing on his face when he saw her. "Hey, Em." He called, turning his gaze upwards once more.

Ember raised an eyebrow. _Man, he really doesn't remember anything_. She narrowed her eyes and took a seat next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Whatcha doing up here, Dipstick?" She asked.

Danny rolled his eyes at her normal insult for him and turned back up to the stars. "Just trying to relax." He said with a small sigh. "Isn't it beautiful?" He asked, gesturing to the darkening sky above them. The moon was beginning to creep into the sky, the bright halo contrasting the inky black that encompassed the sky. Millions of pinpricks littering the sky as the stars danced and twinkled before their eyes.

Ember smirked as she glanced at the sky, not really seeing the big deal. "Yeah, pretty." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Danny chuckled. "You can't see it, can you?" He asked.

Ember furrowed her brow. "See what? It's just a boring night sky. Nothing but empty blackness and meaning little dots of twinkling lights. Wow, super." She mumbled, placing a fist to her cheek as she held her head up.

Danny scoffed. "That. That's exactly what everybody thinks. But it's so much more than that." He said with a smile.

"Look at how dark the sky is. Look how it seeps at all the light from the daytime and converts it into ink." He said gesturing with his hand across the whole sky. "Now just look at the moon. Look at the stars. See how hard they fight to light up the sky, to do what they can to spread their light across the dark, to give it purpose, to give it life."

Ember narrowed her eyes gently, scanning the sky as she studied the stars and the grooves in the moon for the first time. She shook her head as she began to relax for a moment. She mentally reminded herself who exactly she was sitting next to. She turned her head as the boy began to speak once more.

"Most people think all the night sky brings is emptiness and darkness, but it's so much more than that. It's a mystery. It's an adventure. It's a discovery." He said with a large smile. "Why do you think I want to be an astronaut so much? They get to explore the depths of space! They get the adventure of a lifetime!"

He shut his eyes in content, Ember glancing at him in confusion. _How can someone see so much in this?_ She asked herself.

"There's so much more to space than people think. It's not empty. Not even close! There are millions of planets, billions of stars! And that's only in a few galaxies. The universe is extensive. It's so full of light. Lights that are always there, growing in the darkness. Lights most people don't bother to try and understand." He sighed, opening his eyes one more. But Ember noticed they weren't as joyous as before. They seemed clouded. By sadness.

Danny sighed and sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees. Raising a hand, he let a small flicker of green ectoplasm flutter from finger to finger, his eyes following the light. "Do...do you ever feel like you're missing something, missing a part of yourself?" He asked her. Ember lowered her gaze for a moment as she thought about the question, but the boy continued. "I...I feel like I'm missing something. Then again...I guess I feel like that all the time." He snorted pessimistically.

He narrowed his eyes as he pressed his index finger into the top of his thumb and flicked his finger out, a small beam of ecto-plasm shooting out of the tip of his finger, scorching a section of the roof a few paces away. He lowered his gaze. "I mean...I'm not a ghost and I'm not a human. I'm missing a half of each. I'm a halfa, both dead and alive. I used to think people would be able to accept me. That even though I'm part ghost, I'm part human too." He sighed and lowered his hand, shutting his eyes.

"I was wrong. My parents, those Titans, they're all perfect examples of people who will never understand." He stared back up at the sky. "Never understand that light can grow in darkness."

Ember blinked in silent shock, staying silent. Every encounter with the boy she was always met with a witty, sarcastic and annoying little twerp who was too good at what he did. And no matter what she tried, she never could seem to break him. She never knew...never knew he could think so deeply. She raised her head to look at the stars herself, wondering if what he said was really true.

...

...

...

"Do...do you ever miss being human?" He asked. "Being normal?"

Ember paused at the question. A question she hadn't asked herself for years. _Do I miss being human?_

She sighed and sat up as well. "I...I don't know. I mean, it's not like I was doing much as a human anyway. And just look at how strong I am now that I'm a ghost." She said with a dark smile, gripping the neck of her guitar tightly. Danny glanced at her and the fire behind her eyes died out.

She lowered her gaze. "I...I.." She trailed off for a moment. "Being human...being _normal_ is something that most people take for granted nowadays. But...I honestly don't know Danny." She confessed, barely registering that it was the first time she had ever used his real name.

She curled her arms around herself. "Besides...I'm not even sure anybody missed me when I died." She grumbled under her breath. To be honest, she had forgotten much about her past life, but there were a few things she would never forget.

Danny lowered his gaze before a small smile appeared on his face. "Well...I don't know about those people back then, but I'd sure miss you if you died." He confessed. "...again." He added as an afterthought.

Ember raised her head and smiled at him.

Danny sighed and rested his back against the chimney once again, staring out at the sky again. Ember scooted over and placed her guitar on her lap, gently strumming the strings of her instrument. As she played, she realized it wasn't the violent, ear-shattering noise that normally came out of her guitar. This was...gentle. Thoughtful.

It was the type of music she used to play before she died.

She smiled as he fingers danced across the strings, notes singing with each other as they filled the air around the two, swirling around them in perfect harmony. Sighing in content, she closed her eyes and allowed her hands to do the work for her, her mind never wrapping around the fact that she was relaxing next to the same halfa who always foiled her plans. Because right now, he wasn't an enemy. He wasn't an obstacle.

He was a friend.

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **6:38 p.m.**

Robin sighed and rested his head back down onto the pillow, the dull thumping in the back of his head finally silencing now that those irksome Titans were gone. Even through all of their antics, Robin had resisted the urge to leap at them and attack. For he could tell Bruce wouldn't be too happy with him killing one of the twerps.

 _Bruce! Why do you care what he thinks?_

He paused at this. Why _did_ he care what the man thought? Why did he take what he said with such certainty? Why did he _trust_ him?

As he thought about it, he found that it was a question he couldn't answer. Every logical bone in his body told him not to. He was an enemy, just like all the others who resided in the tower, yet...he was different. He was familiar. He was calm.

He was safe.

His eyes popped open behind his mask as he heard the door slid open. Quickly sitting up, he relaxed when he watched the masked man walk in. Batman reached behind him and entered the code for the door, which slid shut once more. At the sound of the door closing, Robin pulled off his mask and placed it on the bed next to him.

Batman reached behind him and pulled down his cowl, grabbing a chair as he dragged it to the side of the bed once more. Dick stared at the tiles that lines the ceiling. "What's with those Titans? Why are they so annoying?!" He shouted in exasperation.

Bruce raised a brow. "Because they're trying to get it through your thick head that they're telling the truth." He said coolly.

Dick rolled his eyes. "Please, as it I'd believe them."

Bruce tilted his head slightly. "You trusted _me._ "

Dick paused at this before turning his head to gaze at the man. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that. Along with everything else you've been saying." He said, sitting up in the bed. "If what you're saying is true...then why don't I trust the others?" He asked, genuinely confused. "Because whenever I see them, I feel like I'm back on that battlefield."

Bruce narrowed his eyes in thought. "I've been thinking about that too. The only thing I can theorize is that because your memories with me are farther back in your mind, they weren't as affected as your memories with the Titans." The man's eyes drifted to the bandages wrapped around Dick's arm. Gesturing for the boy to give him his arm, he began to unwrap the bindings.

Dick narrowed his eyes at the man's words, barely noticing as Bruce undid his wrappings as he tried to focus on comprehending what the man had said. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "I'm supposed to hate you, but I don't. I'm supposed to trust the Titans, but I don't. And I'm supposed to despise Vlad, but I _don't!_ " He groaned in frustration. "I don't understand!"

Bruce grabbed Dick's wrist gently, causing the teen to turn towards him. "Dick, listen. You trust me right?" He asked.

Dick sighed. "Yeah, and that's the whole problem!"

Bruce rolled his eyes at the boy's shout before continuing. "Look, I don't know what Vlad told you, but you need to listen to what _I'm_ telling you now. The Titans...those teens aren't your enemies. They're your friends. You've told me first-hand what they mean to you. They're family."

Dick furrowed his brow as he lowered his head, trying to understand what the man was saying. "But...but Vlad said-"

"He lied. He's been lying to you for weeks. He's changed you, Dick." Bruce explained. "But I know you're still in there somewhere. I just need to reach you. But I can't do that without your help. I can't convince you if _you_ don't believe."

...

...

...

"Dick?"

...

...

"Tell me about Vlad."

"What?" Bruce asked, taken back by the boy's request.

"Tell me about Vlad. Make me understand why you all want me to hate him. What did he do that's made him an enemy in your eyes." Dick stated, staring hard at the man next to him.

Bruce hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Well...Vlad didn't start out all our enemy. He started out as Danny's."

Dick eyes widened at that. "What? But...but how? Danny was just a little kid when he met Vlad."

Bruce shook his head. "No, he met Vlad around a year ago and he's been fighting him ever since. Vlad's not someone to trust, Dick. He's devious, he's cunning, he's manipulative, and his latest victims are you and Danny." He explained to the teen. "And he'll do whatever it takes to achieve his main goals, no matter the cost."

Dick shut his eyes as he tried to focus the jumbled thoughts that were mixing in his head. How could Vlad, the man that had taken him in and cared for him really be all of this. As his mind drifted over past memories with the man, he realized some details began to grow fuzzy and distant.

"Dick, he's evil. He used Danny. He used you. And he chose you two specifically because of who you are and who you tie to. With you in his grasp, he knew he would have a leverage over the Titans and the League. He used you two as a shield against us." Bruce stated.

Dick rubbed the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh. "Damn, he sounds just like Slade." He muttered before his eyes popped open and he turned to the man with a shocked look. Images began to melt into his view.

Fighting alongside the Titans against an army of black robots.

Facing off against a man with an orange and black mask.

Fighting the Titans for the crazed man.

The Titans helping free him from the man's hold.

He blinked back into reality when he heard Bruce call his name. His heartbeat quickened slightly as he took in quick mouthfuls of air. Bruce placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, steadying him once more. "I take it you're starting to remember the Titans." He said.

Dick furrowed his brow. "I...I don't know. I can't be too sure. But...who was that man I saw? Who's Slade?" He asked.

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "A dangerous mercenary, one you should have called for the League to handle." He said, throwing a pointed glare at the boy, who gave an indignant huff. "How is it fair to blame me for something I don't even remember doing?" He asked with a grin.

Bruce gave his own sly smile. "I can already tell that excuse is going to get a run for its money." He said, finally noticing he had never finished changing Robin's bindings.

Dick chuckled, a small cough escaping his lips.

Bruce shook his head. "Although, it's not like you didn't get your fair share of villains in Gotham. Joker, Two-face, Black Mask, Bane. Those aren't villains to be taken lightly." He stated, getting up to retrieve a fresh pair of bandages.

Dick scoffed, which caused another cough to force its way through him and make his chest ache slightly. "Joker...how's that clown?" He asked, memories of the mad clown and his partners filtering into his mind.

Bruce smirked. "They had a custom straight-jacket made for him. The guards even decorated it when they got bored. You should see it." He chuckled, his back turned to the teen as he rummaged through the drawers on the other side of the room.

Dick snorted, a large smile spreading onto his face as he coughed once more. But as he tried sucking in another breath of air, he found it difficult. His throat became dry as his body began to shake. He felt a sudden stab of pain in his chest, which quickly moved to the rest of his body as his muscles tensed. He placed a hand to his mouth as he gave another cough, trying to regain control over his harsh breathing. But when he pulled his hand away, he saw that it was now splattered with flecks of blood.

Bruce heard the teen coughing excessively and turned his head to see what was wrong. At the sight, his eyes widened and he quickly forgot about the bandages. Rushing over to the teen's side, he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Dick groaned in pain as heat began to spread throughout his body, which soon turned into fire underneath his skin.

His head felt as if it might explode as the sound of blood pumping in his ears became one of the only things he could hear. He tried taking in a breath of air, only to feel his chest scream out in protest. His body began to shake violently as he grit his teeth in pain, groaning as he tried not screaming out loud, which was proving to be difficult.

Bruce held the shaking teen in his arms as his body continued to spasm and shudder. He could hear the boy's rasped breathing as he tried desperately to drag oxygen into his lungs. "Dick! Dick, can you hear me?!" He shouted, placing a hand to the boy's cheek as he tried to get the teen to look at him.

Dick could barely focus on the voice as pain exploded everywhere, fire coursing through his veins, burning his muscles, his bones, his _lungs_. He vaguely heard Bruce's voice and a hand on his cheek. The touch made his skin burn even more, but he still forced his eyes open, the colors blurring together before separating and clearing enough to let him see Bruce hovering over him, a hand to his ear as he screamed at someone on the other end to hurry up.

Dick shouted in pain as his fingers curled into the covers, his knuckles turning white under the force. Bruce leaned over him once more. Dick grit his teeth as he tried to crack open his eyes once more. Through the thick hazy, he could make out people entering the room. Flash and Wonder Woman quickly rushed over, while Superman hung by the door, trying to keep people out.

Smaller people.

Teens.

Teens who seemed to be shouting angrily.

He could barely make out what some of the people in the room were saying as he tried to focus on staying conscious.

" _...happening?_

 _"...don't know! ...started screaming..."_

 _"...something quickly!"_

He could feel his lungs start to crave more air than he could obtain, which only made his body burn even more. He could vaguely hear a certain deep voice speaking to him. It rang in his ears as it grew distant.

 _"Dick, hey. Come on, I need you to stay awake. Come on, Dick. Stay awake for me._

He felt his eyes start to close as the pain became too much, his grip on the covers loosened as his mind began to cloud over. He could barely make out the voice anymore, but he could tell it seemed desperate...and afraid?

 _"Stay awake, Dick. Come on, open your eyes. Keep your eyes open, Dick!"_

 _"Dick...!"_


	25. Chapter 25: Pick Your Poison

**Chapter 25: Pick Your Poison**

* * *

 **The Underground**

 **5:34 a.m.**

Danny sighed as he watched Vlad ready the syringe, filling it with the same serum he was beginning to get tired of seeing. "How many more of these things am I going to have to get?" He asked as Vlad began to walk towards him. "Why do I even need them?"

The man's face never changed as he began to clean the boy's arm. "Because, my dear boy, this will make sure you stay healthy and strong, especially while fighting those Titans." He explained.

Danny furrowed his brow. "But I feel fine. Besides, I'm sure I can go a while without having to-" He started, only to be cut off as the needle was injected into his arm, the serum beginning to swirl around in his bloodstream once more.

His eyes widened as his eyes flashed red. He shut his eyelids tightly as a loud thumping reverberated through the back of his skull. Opening his eyes once more, he faced Vlad with an emotionless face. The man smiled as he set the syringe down onto the table. "Anymore questions?" He asked.

Danny shook his head. "No, sir." He said, eyes clearing for a moment as he blinked repeatedly.

Vlad nodded. "Good, you are dismissed."

Danny slowly got down from the metal table and placed a hand to his head in confusion. He cast a strange glance towards Vlad before walking out of the room. The elder halfa began to lock away the rest of the remaining serum when he saw the shadows in the room begin to flicker as a new light source approached.

He rolled his eyes and turned his head. "What is it?" He asked, watching as the Fright Knight and Spectra walked in.

"Plasmius, is it still working?" Spectra asked, having just watched Danny walk down the hallway, clutching his head in confusion and pain.

Vlad nodded. "Yes, as expected, it's beginning to take a bigger toll on his mind with every new dose we give him." He grinned. "Soon he will become a mindless puppet to us, obedient to every command we give him." He explained. "Our own personal weapon. A weapon those other heroes won't dare use their full strength on, lest they hurt him."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Speaking of that, I'm still worried about that Robin boy. You say you've taken care of him, but I don't see how. In the hands of those others, they will surely be able to get him back."

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Have you not listened to anything I've said? I told you, he won't be a problem. He won't be anything soon." He said with a wicked grin. "Now that the supply of serums has cut off, it won't be replenished in his bloodstream. Soon, the virus already in his system will begin to morph into something else. Something dangerous." He said with a glint in his eyes.

Spectra narrowed her eyes in realization.

Vlad turned his back. "As I said, it's done. He will not be a complication."

Spectra sighed in annoyance and left the room, leaving the man alone with the Fright Knight. The armored ghost walked forward. "Plasmius, when do you plan on making your next move?" He asked, watching as the man folded his arms behind his back.

"Patience. We will move soon."

The Fright Knight narrowed his eyes. "I grow tired of waiting, fool. Why do we wait? We have everything that is needed, do we not?"

Vlad curled his lip. "No, we do not. The detonators still need more work before they are complete. We move when they're done, not a moment before." He growled out, staring hard at the ghost in front of him.

The Fright Knight wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword, his eyes blazing angrily. "Mind your tongue, halfling. Or must I remind you I could destroy you with one slice of my sword?" He snarled out, the purple flames that flickered behind him flaring up in rage.

But Vlad seemed unphased by it as he smiled. "Must I remind _you_ about our little arrangement?" He asked, the ghost slowly retracting his hand from his sword. "Remember, once this is all said and done, you and your armies get whatever land you wish. I'll never bother you, never attack you, you'll have free reign on whatever and whoever you see fit."

The ghost narrowed his eyes. "Very well." He growled, watching as Vlad's smirk grew. "But are you truly certain those children will be taken care of?" He asked.

Vlad nodded. "Trust me, Daniel is in our total control. And as for Robin..."

"He'll be dead in days."

As they continued to talk, neither of them took notice of the ghost hiding invisibly behind the door, her green eyes filled with concern.

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **5:45 a.m.**

"YOU SAID THIS WASN'T DEADLY!"

Flash shrunk in his seat at the man's roar. He opened his mouth to say something, only to shut it again when Batman continued. "That serum wasn't supposed to affect him on any level other than mentally. So would you like to explain to me what's happening in there?! He shouted, gesturing down the hall towards the medical wing.

Flash fiddled with his fingers. "Umm..not particularly." He said quietly, which turned into a stutter when Batman's gaze turned from icy to a fiery rage. The speedster leapt to his feet and raised his hands in surrender. "But...but that serum _wasn't_ supposed to do this. Nothing in its chemical makeup suggested creating a reaction like this." He stated.

The sound of beeping filled the room as the computer finished analyzing the new blood sample Robin as well as the body scan. Flash rushed over to the other side of the room, his fingers began to fly over the keys. The heroes in the room, including the teenage ones, walked over to stand beside the man as he worked.

"Aha!" The man said triumphantly, only for the look to delve into one of confusion. "What? But...but that can't be right..." He muttered to himself. A small gasp escaped his lips as his fingers froze over the keys.

Batman narrowed his eyes and stalked closer. "What? What is it?"

Flash blinked back his shock as he tried to find his voice once more. He swallowed hard before continuing. "Um...maybe...maybe the kids shouldn't be in here for this."

Everybody turned to stare at the group before Cyborg crossed his arms. "We aren't going anywhere." He growled to them.

Flash bit his lower lip before sighing, standing up from his chair. "Alright, but don't say I didn't try." He lowered his gaze once more as he typed into the computer, different images appearing on the largest screen in the room.

"Okay, this is an image of D- _Robin's_ system yesterday." He said, quickly correcting himself as he glanced at the teens, remembering they still didn't know. He shook his head and pointing to an image of a white human outlined against a black surface, showing the nerves, muscles, organs and bones of the teen, each seeming normal. He sighed and pressed another series of commands into the computer. "And this is what it looks like now." He said darkly, a new image popping onto the screen.

The people in the room gasped, eyes widening, hands covering mouths as they all stared at the image.

The nerves and veins that stretched around his body were now rivaled by a new system of cobweb-like spindles, wrapping all around his body. The lungs were beginning to turn a strange color consisting of red and yellow. His muscles were covered by the same spindles that were spreading everywhere, seeming to center at the middle of his chest.

Flash shut his eyes before continuing. "The serum. Before, it only affected him mentally. But...but it's changed. It's not altering him anymore..."

"...it...it's killing him."

"It's chemical composition has morphed from a serum to...to a poison." He explained, everybody listening in deadly silence.

"The poison's spreading through his entire body, infecting what it can. His bones, his muscles, his veins. It's eating away at everything, draining him for whatever he's got. It seems to mainly be focused around his chest and lungs." He faltered for a moment before continuing. "It...it's shutting everything down, every system in his body until..."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I...I..."

Batman couldn't tear his gaze away from the screen in front of him, Flash's voice echoing in his ears. He clenched his jaw tightly as his fingers curled into fists. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, the noise filling his ears as he began to wonder how everyone in the room couldn't hear it. His gut wrenching in fear, a feeling he hadn't felt in a _long_ time.

Diana placed a hand on his shoulder, but he barely felt it as he tried to figure out what to do.

The teens in the room were visibly shaking as they processed what the man had said. "But...but you...you can do something, right?" Beastboy asked, his breathing quickening. "Y-you can save him, can't you?" He asked, his eyes glazing over.

Shayera tilted her head. "Can you?" She asked quietly, strange to hear her voice with such a soft demeanor.

Flash felt his mouth dry up as he hesitated to answer, the reality of the situation finally beginning to dawn on him. He gazed around at the people in the room before he let out a sigh. "I...I've gotten closer to figuring out the composition of the serum, but...but I don't even know if the antidote will work anymore. It-it might be too late." He whispered out, the words still heard by everyone in the room.

Starfire cupped her hands over her mouth as large tears began to stream down her face, Bolts of fear coursing through her body as she turned to Cyborg, who had wrapped his arm around the sobbing Tamaranian as she wept against his chest.

Raven lowered her hood and opened her mouth to speak, but John seemed to know what they were going to ask anyways. "Go ahead, you're excused." He said, watching as the teens nodded and walked through the door.

Batman swallowed the bile rising in his throat and raised his head, his expression hard. "Keep working on the antidote. Do what you can." He instructed, leaving no room for argument, not that anybody had one.

J'onn stepped forward, asking the one question reverberating through everyone's mind. "How long does he have?"

Flash lowered his gaze before removing his cowl. He placed a hand to his forehead as he shut his eyes. "I don't know. Considering how fast the poison is spreading, I would give it a day or two. But...that would be basing it upon a regular person." He added.

The Leaguers nodded in understanding. This wasn't just some random kid that had been pulled off the street. This was Dick Grayson, a child raised by Bruce Wayne, trained by _Batman._ If any human child would be able to last, it would be Dick, and they all knew it.

"With Dick, I give it a couple days to a week." Wally stated.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Do you think you can come up with a cure by then?" He asked.

Wally sighed. "I...I don't know. But I'll do everything I can." He promised. Superman placed a hand to the speedster's shoulder. "We know you will."

Batman clenched his fists and whipped around, quickly stalking out of the room without another word. The stunned Leaguers quickly shook themselves out of the state, realizing they would be acting the same way were they to be in his position. Diana quickly explained she would be back in a moment before following the man down the hallway.

He walked quickly down the hallway, the soft click of his shoes echoing against the walls of the hall. Upon arrival to the door he was searching for, he saw the Titans huddled around the window, each with looks of depression on their faces as they stared at the condition of their leader and friend. The growing yearn to rush into the room to their friend's side was weighed down by the fact that their presence might aggravate his already worsening condition.

Diana placed a hand on the man's shoulder before walking towards the teens. "Come, children. Flash may need out assistance." She explained, relieved when the teens reluctantly pulled away from the window, too defeated to protest as they followed her down the hall.

Batman watched them depart before raising his hand to enter the code in for the door. As he heard the metal slid away, he stepped inside and drank in the sickening scene in front of him, his gut clenching.

The sound of different beeps and pings were the only sound in the quiet room, apart from the raspy breaths of the boy lying in the bed. His skin was paper white except for the pink hue that covered his cheeks and the deep red veins that were clearly visible around the base of his neck, disappearing beneath his shirt and blankets, sweat rolling down his temple. His messy black hair clung to his forehead, stray strands falling onto his masked eyes. His chest quickly rose and fell uneasily and his fingers clutched the blankets tightly in his fitful sleep.

Batman removed his cowl as he slowly walked into the room. He brushed the stray strands of hair out of the the boy's eyes before removing his mask as well, revealing that his closed eyes were scrunched slightly in pain. Bruce sighed and placed the mask on the nightstand next to the bed before walking over to the sink. He promptly filled a bowl with cold water and grabbed a rag.

Walking back over, he took a seat next to the bed and soaked the rag in cold water, wringing it out before placing it on the teen's burning forehead. Instantly, Dick's eyes snapped open as he gasped, which wasn't a good idea, as a fiery bolt shot through his chest. He groaned in pain as his hand hovered over his sternum.

Bruce placed a hand to the teen's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay." He said softly, Dick turning to gaze at him as he was gently pushed back down onto the pillow. "B-Bruce?" He asked softly. The man nodded with a small smile as he re-placed the rag onto the boy's head.

As he tried to take in another breath of air, his face scrunched in pain as a fit of coughing racked his whole body. He could taste the familiar tang of copper on his tongue as blood appeared on his lips. Bruce cursed silently and grabbed a towel.

Dick's body began to shudder as he clenched his fists in pain, his breaths coming in short spouts of raspy intervals. Bruce narrowed his eyes and rushed over to the cabinets, grabbing what he needed. He gently placed a mask over Dick's nose and mouth before turning on the machine, oxygen beginning to circulate freely through the mask.

Dick gratefully took in as much air as he could allow without doubling over in agony. Bruce removed his glove and wrapped his fingers around Dick's small, shaking ones. The teen turned his head to gaze at the man, his eyes narrowed in pain and confusion. "W-what's h-h-happening, B-Bruce?" He stuttered out, his voice small and weak.

The man narrowed his eyes and anger. "Vlad." He snarled out. "He did this to you. He poisoned you."

Dick furrowed his brow and shut his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "N-no. Vlad...Vlad w-would never d-d-do this."

Bruce sighed and rubbed his thumb over the pale skin of the boy's hand, the dark veils stretching farther up his arms. "Yes, Dick. He did. Listen to me, those serums that Vlad gave you. They weren't designed to help you. They were designed to keep you under his control. But they were also designed as a fail-safe, in case you ever broke free of that control." He explained.

Dick's mind drifted back to the green injections he would receive while in the man's care.

"It's infected your system, Dick. Poisoning your body." Bruce explained. "That's why you're like this. Because _he's_ done this to you." He spat out, his eyes narrowed in silent rage. The anger quickly melted into concern when he saw Dick shut his eyes tightly once more, trying to fight back a spasm of pain that coursed through his body.

He grit his teeth as waves of agony engulfed him. His free hand clenched the covers tightly, his knuckles turning white as he arched his back off the bed in excruciating pain, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes. Bruce noticed that as the surge continued, the teen's veins burned a bright red, spreading farther down his body. He felt his heart clench as he helplessly watched his ward endure the torture. Finally, the wave ceased and the teen fell back down into the bed, gasping for breath as his head rolled to the side in exhaustion, his veins returning to the same color as before.

Sweat began to form on his forehead once more as Dick tried to regain control over his already harsh breathing. His hand shook in Bruce's grip, the man tightening his hold on the frail teen as he wiped away a stray tear from the boy's cheek. Dick shut his eyes and rested his head back down onto the pillow, trying to focus on keeping the swaying feeling in his stomach at bay.

Bruce noticed the boy was shivering and quickly grabbed extra blankets from the side closet, gently draping them over the teen. Dick cracked open his eyes once more and felt the cool burn of the rag as Bruce placed it on his forehead once more, all the while, keeping one hand tightly curled around his.

He moaned softly in pain as another sharp sting could be felt in his chest before disappearing once more. A small question popped into his head. Well, to many others, the question wouldn't be small at all, but it was a question he asked himself almost on a daily basis.

"B-Bruce? A-am I g-g-going to die?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Bruce froze at the question, his stomach beginning to do flip-flops as the words echoed off of his ears. He glanced down at the small figure of the boy, who gazed back at him with a small glint of fear in his eyes. The man internally debated with himself on how he should handle the situation before placing a hand to Dick's cheek, the teen gently leaning his head into the touch. "Just keep fighting, Dick. I know you're strong enough to battle this."

The teen shut his eyes as Bruce gently ran his fingers through the boy's messy black hair, the hum of the oxygen machine as well as the constant beeping of the machines filling the silent room. Dick began to shake once more, but not as much from pain or chills this time, but from fear. He stared up at the man, his eyes glazing over.

"Mi-e frică, tată."

Bruce felt his heart clench once more as he wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him closer. "I know, Dick. I...I'm scared too."

The teen felt shock course through him at the man's words. For even though his mind was clouded by pain and confusion, there were a few things he knew as one hundred percent fact, an example being the Batman Rules.

Batman Rule #1:  
-Batman's never lazy.

Batman Rule #2:  
-Batman's always right (no matter how much Dick hated to admit it)

Batman Rule #3:  
-Batman never cries.

Batman Rule #4:  
-Batman never shows fear.

Was his hearing finally beginning to go as well, or had Dick actually heard the man admit that he was scared? He knew he should have been frightened. He should have been scared out of his mind. For if _Batman_ 's worried, then there's a _definite_ problem. But for some reason, the realization didn't make Dick afraid.

No.

It made him feel calm. It made him feel closer to the man that he had ever felt before.

He could feel his eyelids getting heavier as the silence grew around him. Another rack of coughs shuddered through him, violently rattling his small body, but he didn't have the strength to fight it. He merely moaned and curled tighter into Bruce's arms as he closed his eyes, falling into a fitful sleep, praying and hoping that his father could somehow take away his pain.

Bruce wrapped his arms tighter around the frail and broken body of his ward-no-of his _son_. _That's what he is_. Bruce realized. _My son_. He had been his son from the second he had arrived at the mansion, the second he appeared wearing that Robin costume, the second he walked into Bruce's life, shining a light on the shadows that surrounded him and his work.

The sound of the boy's harsh breaths, the loud beeps and the steady hum of the oxygen machine echoed off the walls, bouncing back to the man's ears. He lowered his head to gaze at the boy's ghost-white face, his cheeks burning red from the fever, the oxygen mask over his face fogging up with every raspy breath

Bruce took in a shuddering gulp of air as he gently lifted the teen closer to him, enveloping him in a hug, burying his face into the boy's shoulder as he began to break Batman Rule #3. For those rules might apply to Batman, but they sure as hell didn't apply to Bruce Wayne.


	26. Chapter 26: Out of Time

**Chapter 26: Out Of Time**

* * *

 **Five days later**

 **The Watchtower**

 **3:35 p.m.**

Things weren't going well.

The members of the League had been working as hard as they could to try and figure out what the mysterious toxin was, especially Flash, who pulled a few all-nighters before being pulled away by his teammates. He was finally beginning to make progress figuring out what the main component in the toxin was, but he still feared he wouldn't be fast enough.

Well, the Titans weren't doing much better. Whenever they weren't helping the Leaguers down in the Lab, they were with Robin. They mostly sat silently in the room, keeping watch in case the teen ever began to crash. They had had a couple close calls in the past few days, which had led to a matching number of panic-attacks. They longed to talk to their friend again. They prayed he would make it through, that he would once again have the strength to lead them into battle.

Neither teams of heroes were faring well, but it was the heads of both teams that had everybody worried.

Batman had been working around the clock looking for a cure, leading to many sleepless nights. Whenever he wasn't conducting research, he was right by Robin's side, making sure the child knew he was there for him in case he was needed.

Some of the Leaguers, the ones who didn't really know what they were doing in the lab, had volunteered to check in on Gotham City from time to time to make sure it hadn't been overrun by crazed psychos yet. Batman grimaced at the thought of other heroes on his turf, but he refused to leave the Watchtower, leave the boy, leave his son.

Then there was Robin.

The boy's pale skin had dropped at least three more shades, the only color in his face coming from the flushed pink of his cheeks and nose. His fever had increased to a heart-pounding 104.8, and the poisonous red veins had now spread across his entire body, even beginning to work their way up his neck.

The oxygen machine had been cranked up to full blast, but it still wasn't enough to keep him breathing smoothly, and the poison had drained him of his strength, so much so that he could barely even curl his fingers into a fist anymore. Beads of sweat rolled down his temple while his body shivered underneath the blankets.

The heroes in the tower, excluding Batman, could barely stand to look at the teen, distraught that, without an antidote, they couldn't do anything to help him as he delved further and further into his worsening condition.

...

As Batman walked down the hallway in silence, intent on relieving the Titans from their monitor duties, he heard a loud shout coming from the labs. He narrowed his eyes and quickly raced to the room, the doors sliding open as he arrived, the other Leaguers not already present in the room rushing over as well.

Inside, Wally had leapt up from his seat, the chair currently lying on the ground at the speeds of his movement. He was leaping in the air, a triumphant grin on his face as he pumped his fist. He noticed the others and quickly rushed over, pulling them into the room.

"I did it! I got it! I FINALLY got it!" He shouted.

"So what is it?" Superman asked urgently.

Wally rushed back to the computer and began to quickly type, the information appearing on the above screen.

"Zyphiantra-Anatinous, also called Zyphius Antigen. It's a toxin that isn't found on Earth." He explained. "That's why I was having such a hard time figuring out what it was. It's actually native to the Ghost Zone."

He stood up and grabbed a large brown book. "I realized I wasn't getting anywhere, so then I started to think about who we're really dealing with."

"Ghosts." Shayera realized.

Wally nodded. "Exactly. So I asked Sam if I could borrow a book of hers and found _this."_ He opened the book to a marked page, a red flower in the center of the page, small printed writing around the image.

"Blood Blossoms?" Diana asked, reading the words on the page.

Wally nodded again. "Yep, apparently it's a flower that's deadly to ghosts, but harmless to humans." He paused before continuing. "But that changes when you crush the flower into a powder...," He trailed off as he flipped the pages, trying to find the correct ones. "...add oractine burs,...criatine crystals and heat the entire mixture until it boils." He said, reading off the page with the ingredients and exact instructions.

"Once you do that, you have a highly toxic serum that alters the mind and body. The criatine crystals add to the mental effect it has, and the oractine burs explain what is happening now. They're extremely poisonous, to both humans and ghosts." He explained.

He furrowed his brow. "But, there's something else with this serum. Once it's administered to somebody, it becomes addictive. The body begins to crave it. See, the blood blossoms have a chemical component that can cancel out the burs, dulling their effect. But..." He trailed off before continuing. "If the supply is just cut off, then nothing stops the oractine already administered from infecting the body." He stated.

"After a few days without the serum...well, you all know." He sighed.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Can you create an antidote now?" He asked.

Wally rubbed the back of his neck as he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I-I think so. But I'll need some time." He said.

J'onn stepped forward. "We will do whatever we can." He stated, the others nodding behind him. Superman turned to Batman. "We should probably to and tell the teens. Maybe they can help us with this." He explained.

"Oh, I'll also need a new sample of Dick's blood. Now that I know what I'm looking at, I should be able to get this." He explained

Batman nodded as Superman and J'onn followed him out of the room, towards the medical wing.

...

As the Titans sat around the room in silence, the dreaded feeling began to set into all of their hearts. The feeling that their leader wasn't going to recover from this. He would never watch any more movies with them, or train with them, or fight alongside them. That, alone would be enough to crush them, but it was the thought that Robin would die believing they were the enemy that made their hearts break.

Cyborg stared at the machine in front of him, the elevated heart rate telling him what he tried so hard not to believe.

Raven sat by the opposite corner, her hood pulled tightly over her face as she kept her eyes trailed on the ground, trying not to think about what was inevitable, lest her powers begin to get the best of her.

Starfire sat next to Robin's bed, her fingers intertwined with his cold ones. She didn't know how long she had been crying, for now, she didn't even register the tears that still streamed down her face.

Beastboy had morphed into a cat and had curled up at the bottom corner of Robin's bed. The others didn't protest, understanding that the youngest on their team wanted to be as close to the boy as possible, keeping him under a watchful eye.

And Sam, Tucker and Jazz stood next to each other, their backs pressed against the far wall as they watched their friends dive headfirst into a state of depression. Their hearts clenched for their friend, but in the back of their minds, they still held the same worry for Danny.

Nobody said anything as they listened to the heart monitor, the rhythm of the beat worrying most in the room. His blood pressure was way too low and his heartbeat was way too fast.

They all jumped when the door opened and Batman, Superman and J'onn walked into the room. Realizing who it was, the teens quickly relaxed, or as close to relaxed as possible. Batman narrowed his eyes and turned to the kids. "Anything?" He asked.

Cyborg shook his head. "No, he still isn't able to stomach any food or water, not since yesterday." He explained.

Batman sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before turning back to the teens. "Alright, go see if the others need any help in the lab." He instructed before he and the others moved to Robin. The Titans hesitated before complying, realizing it wouldn't be wise to disobey the Dark Knight in his state.

As the door closed behind, J'onn grabbed a syringe from the cabinets and handed it to the black-clad man.

Batman muttered something under his breath and roughly grabbed the needle. As he began to clean Robin's arm, his mind drifted over the notion that it wasn't wise to draw blood from the teen at the moment, considering how badly he needed it. But he also knew that if Flash were to come up with an antidote, he would need the poison, which only came from Robin's blood.

He sighed and gently inserted the needle into one of the harsh red veins, which contrasted greatly against Robin's white skin. As the needle filled with the blood, they all noticed that the contents of the syringe seemed to be glowing a bright red, brighter than normal blood. The man narrowed his eyes and passed the syringe back to the martian, who quickly left the room and headed for the lab, where Flash was impatiently waiting.

Batman turned to the Man of Steel and narrowed his eyes, nodding his head.

The alien walked forward and stopped in front of Robin's bed, eyes focusing as he harnessed his x-ray vision. After a moment, he sighed and turned his head. "No, it's not slowing." He revealed. "If anything, it's starting to spread even faster. I-I'm sorry." He lowered his gaze.

Batman shut his eyes and removed his cowl, rubbing his face in exhaustion. He walked over to the side of the bed and sat down, removing the boy's mask as he stroked his head. Clark placed a hand on the man's shoulder before turning towards the door. "I should go see if Flash needs anything. If not, I'll try and swing by Gotham." He explained.

Bruce only nodded as he heard the door slide closed behind the man. He removed his gloves once more and gently wrapped his fingers around Dick's, worry coursing through him at how cold they were. The boy's chest moved up and down in small erratic movements, the only sign that he was still alive, apart from the continuous beeping of the infernal machine next to him.

The man propped his elbow up onto his knee and rested his head in his free hand, falling into a troubled sleep.

* * *

 **Masters' Mansion**

 **3:40 p.m.**

Ember flew through the halls of the mansion, her eyes scanning for the one particular ghost. She growled when her search came up empty, deciding to try outside. Phasing through the walls, she began her search once more as she circled the mansion.

Suddenly, the sound of rustling trees alerted her to someone else's presence.

Quickly whipping around, she watched as Skulker emerged from the forest, an annoyed look evident on his face. Ember took no notice as she flew down to meet him. As she landed, the ghost began to speak even before she could open her mouth. "The creatures in this infernal place are not even worth the trouble of hunting!" He snarled.

"Skulker-"

"They are puny, pathetic wastes of space."

"Skulker-"

"I would not even feed them to the lowlife monsters that reside in The Ghost Zone's shadow pits!"

"Skulker!" Ember shouted, her fists clenched in agitation. The girl's outburst caused the hunter to freeze and whip his head towards her. "What? What is it?" He muttered, raising a brow as to why the girl was acting this was.

Ember took a deep breath before facing the ghost once more. "Listen, we need to get out of here. We need to stop Vlad and the others."

Skulker narrowed his eyes. "What are you blabbering about?"

Ember narrowed her eyes. "I heard Vlad and the Fright Knight talking. Plasmus said that once this is all over, that he will give the Fight Knight total control over the Ghost Zone and all its inhabitants." She explained. "And not sure if you remember, but rule under the Fight Knight is almost as bad as Pariah." She growled.

Skulker shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. Plasmius agreed that if we helped him with his plan that we could gain control over the human world as well as our lands in the Ghost Zone."

Ember sighed in exasperation. "That's not happening, Skulker. Those ghosts, Vortex, Undergrowth, Aargon, don't you think they'll want their own pieces of territory? And the Fright Knight! Haven't you been wondering why he's listening to Vlad, VLAD!" She shouted.

"He wouldn't. Not unless he was getting something in return." She explained. "If Vlad succeeds in his plans, we'll have nowhere to go. He's going to betray us!" She shouted.

Skulker growled at her. "Alright, if you're so certain about this, what do you suggest we do about it, huh?" He asked her, watching as she lowered her gaze, scuffling her foot in the dirt. He cocked his head. The girl was never so unsure about something, and even if she was, she never showed it.

Finally, she raised her head. "I...I think we need Danny."

Skulker's eyes widened for a moment before they lit up in merriment, a loud laugh escaping from his throat as he clutched his metallic chest. "Oh, I thought you were serious for a second." He said with a smile, which melted into a look of confusion when he saw her serious face.

He narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. "Are you serious? You come to me with this ridiculous notion and then discuss freeing that little whelp from the best revenge plan he's ever faced?" He shouted. "Are you kidding?!"

Ember narrowed her eyes, but didn't back down from the ghost's green gaze. "I'm not making this up, Skulker. Our only chance to save ourselves is to free Danny from their grasp and get him to help us." She explained.

Skulker narrowed his eyes and turned away from her. "You're insane, Ember. I think the stress has finally gotten to you." He muttered as he flew towards the mansion, phasing into the walls. Ember stared off at where the ghost had disappeared before firing a large purple blast from her hands into the forest in anger.

Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, she turned back towards the mansion and flew towards it, phasing into the ground. Landing softly on the metallic floor, she instantly became invisible when she heard footsteps. Pressing her back against the wall, she watched as Vlad walked down the hall, turning to enter a door on the right.

Ember hesitated for a moment before following, silently entering the lab, hovering by the ceiling. Spectra and Vlad were rummaging around the lab, grabbing different vials and tubes. In the middle of the room, Danny was strapped to a metal table that stood at a diagonal from the floor. The feeling of being tied down to the cold surface made his heart pound for some reason, but he couldn't understand why.

He took a deep breath and turned towards Vlad. "Uhh...I-I'm not sure about this, Vlad." He said nervously when he watched the man move a large machine closer, a dark red liquid sloshing on the inside.

The man smirked at the teen. "Don't worry, my boy. But we've received intel that the Titans are planning something big. They mean to alter your mind." He explained. Danny furrowed his brow at this but allowed the man to continue. "So, we've concocted this serum to make sure you are immune to whatever they try to do."

The teen watched with wary eyes as Vlad began to stretch out a long thin tube connected to a needle at the tip. The cold tip was pressed into his arm, making him wince slightly before watching Vlad walk back over to the machine and flip a switch.

The red liquid began to travel through the tube until it began to flow into the teen. Danny gave a groan of pain as he felt an uncomfortable heat course through him, but after a moment, he felt his eyelids grow heavy. After a few minutes, he had slipped from consciousness.

Vlad smirked and turned towards the female. "This should sustain him for at least a week. It's stronger than the other serums." He explained to Spectra, who had folded her arms in skepticism. "After this is complete, he will be completely and totally in our control." He said, curling his lips into a wicked grin, Spectra cracking a smile of her own.

The two ghosts quickly left the room, leaving the boy to succumb to the effects of the serum. Once deciding it was safe, Ember flew down from the ground and landed in front of the boy, releasing her invisibility. She walked over and scanned the machine next to the boy, releasing the red liquid into him. Reaching up, she placed a hand to the boy's face and lifted it up, noticing a faint red glow emitting from the veins under his skin.

Gently retracting her hand, she walked over to the machine and ran her hands over the different wires and electronics that covered it. She narrowed her eyes when she noticed that there was no button to cease the release of the serum. So, she'd just have to settle with separating the container of liquid from the actual machine.

On the side of the machine, a large clear container was filled with the serum, sloshing around as its levels sank lower and lower as it was injected into the boy. Wrapping her fingers around the container, she tugged roughly at it, trying to rip it away from the machine, only to yank her hands back as she received a shock.

For a moment, she wondered whether it was worth it. After all, it was _Phantom_ she was talking about. The teen who never ceased to make her life difficult. Nevertheless, nobody deserved to be a mindless slave, especially not to Plasmius. Besides, she didn't feel like finding a new place to live.

She gripped the container once more and pulled with all of her might. After a few minutes of tugging, cursing and frustration, she was beginning to wonder how she would stop the process. She briefly considered yanking the needle out of the teen's arm, but quickly dismissed it when she realized that the liquid would still be pumping out of the needle, covering the room with the substance.

It would prove that someone had tampered with the machine and the substance. If Vlad thought someone had messed with the process, he would conduct it once more, meaning she would have to start all over again. Not to mention, he would be on the lookout for anyone suspicious.

She shook her head and continued to try yanking the container out of the machine.

 _"How did I know you'd be here_?"

Quickly whipping around, her eyes fell on Skulker, the ghost throwing her a look of exasperation. He walked into the room and gazed at her with a look that said _you-better-start-explaining-before-I-condemn-you-as-crazy._

Ember sighed and faced him. "Please, Skulker. You have to believe me. Danny's our only hope at stopping Vlad." She pleaded.

Skulker gazed at her what seemed like an eternity, every second feeling like a century to Ember, knowing they only had a short amount of time before the procedure was complete and Danny was lost.

Finally, the ghost pushed past her and gripped the sides of the container, gritting his teeth as he pulled, the device separating from the machine with a loud _clang_. He tossed her the container, the girl quickly stabilizing it in her arms. "So what do we do with that?" He asked.

Ember scanned the room before walking over to the sink, emptying the container of the serum, the red liquid sinking into the drain. Moving back over to the machine, she placed the container back into its slot and repositioned everything to the way they were before.

Skulker sighed and crossed his arms. "Now what do we do?"

Ember bit the inside of her cheek before turning to him. "We can't take him. If the others realize we're gone as well, they'll send everybody after us." She explained. "So we'll just have to hope those Titans really _are_ his friends and get here soon."

Skulker narrowed his eyes and turned away. "You better be right about this." He growled at her.

The girl smiled and planted a kiss on his metallic cheek, the robot walking out of the room. She tossed one last glance at Danny's still form before following the ghost out of the room. _I really hope I am._

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **11:58 p.m.**

Bruce cracked open his eyes, slowly lifting his head up as he tried to get a bearing of his surroundings. He was in the medical room sitting next to Dick's bed, his hand still wrapped around Dick's. He sighed as his eyes fell on the boy frail body, his chest shakily rising and falling.

He noticed nothing else in the room had been disturbed, not since he fell asleep. He could only assume the Leaguers had decided to leave him alone, considering it was the longest he had slept in almost a week.

He gently brushed the stray hairs out of the boy's eyes and stroked his cheek. Slowly, Dick's eyes fluttered open, revealing dull pain-filled blue eyes. " _B-B-Bruce_?" His voice was barely audible.

The billionaire moved closer and gently stroked Dick's hand. "Yes, Dick. I'm here. I'm right here." He said reassuringly, noticing the boy was shaking.

Dick shut his eyes tightly as he grit his teeth from underneath the oxygen mask, which Bruce made sure was at maximum power. "H-h-hurts." He groaned. It was all he had the strength to say to the man, but it was enough for Bruce to realize the amount of pain the boy was in.

Bruce placed a comforting hand to the teen's cheek. "I know, _pui de pasare_. I know. Just stay strong. Can you do that for me?

Dick opened his mouth to speak before settling on a small nod.

Bruce gently released Dick's hand from his grip as he stood up and walked over to the cabinets. Dick felt his hand shaking, longing to feel the man's warm grip once more. Bruce turned back to the bed, a thermometer in his hand. He gently removed the oxygen mask from the teen's face, watching as his breaths became even more erratic and raspy.

He quickly placed the thermometer in the teen's mouth and listened for the beep.

At the sound, he pulled the device out and stared hard at the numbers. He narrowed his eyes as his stomach churned.

106.2

He shut his eyes tightly as he tried to keep his face neutral, not wanting to startle the boy. He quickly placed the oxygen mask back onto the teen's face, allowing him to 'breath' once more. He knew there wasn't much point in getting angry. They were doing everything they could to accommodate for the boy's state, but there was only so much they could to to help him at this point.

He could only pray Flash would hurry with the antidote.

As he sat down once more, he noticed the boy curling his fingers into fists as he shut his eyes and grit his teeth, a white hot fire shooting into his chest, spreading out to the rest of his body once more. The attacks had been becoming more frequent as time passed. Going from every half hour to every twenty minutes, down to ten. And every time, Dick noticed they got longer and more painful.

Bruce could only whisper encouraging words as the boy endured the pain, his body convulsing in pain as tears streamed from the corners of his eyes, the frantic beeping of the machines around him adding to his growing fear. Finally, the attack ended and he gasped for any air he could take in, black and red dots mingling into the corner of his eyes before fading away.

A small whimper escaped his lips as he tried to curl up into a ball, his body shaking violently. He slowly used what little strength he had left to reach his hand out, Bruce grabbing it as he rubbed the boy's shoulder. Tears still rolled down the teen's face as he opened his tired eyes. "Fă-l opresc, tati. Vă rugăm să-l oprească să." _Make it stop, daddy. Please make it stop._

Bruce felt his heart clench as his grip on the small hand tightened. "Just hang on, Dick." He whispered. He swallowed the lump in his throat as the truth began to fester and grow in the back of his mind as he watched the boy fight for breath.

Dick wouldn't be able to survive another attack.

He narrowed his eyes as he raised a hand to his ear, activating the com. "Flash, how long until the antidote is ready?" He asked.

 _"Shouldn't be too long, now."_

 _"_ Well hurry up." Bruce practically growled at him before cutting off the connection.

He winced as a loud bone-rattling cough shook through Dick's small frame, his body shuddering in protest before relaxing once more. The boy could taste the familiar tang of copper on his lips, but didn't have the strength to really care.

Bruce reached over and gently wiped the tears from his son's face, wishing and praying to god, to _any_ god that he could relieve his baby bird of the pain that tore through his small body.

Dick shut his eyes tightly as the mask over his face fogged up with every breath he took. His chest burned and screamed in protest whenever he tried to breath normally, not to mention when he tried taking in a deep breath. His stomach churned sickeningly. He curled to his side and began to dry-heave, the violent expelling burning his body, eating up at what little strength he had.

Bruce gently shushed the boy as he continued to heave before he fell limp onto the covers once more, his body shaking even more than before (if that was even possible). The man stroked the boy's hair out of his face, pulling the covers higher up onto his body.

Bruce sighed in exhaustion and defeat as he placed a hand over his eyes, the fear in his chest beginning to grow with every beat of his heart. He had never been as terrified as he was now, apart from that moment all those years ago. He never felt this type of fear. Not when he zip-lined from building to building. Not when he fought psychopaths.

No, he only remembered fear similar to this when Robin used to fight alongside him. He would feel this fear whenever the boy was in danger. Whenever his life was threatened. Whenever there was the risk the teen wouldn't get back up.

But this, this fear froze colder than all of those times. Because at least back then, he could help him.

He was yanked from his thoughts when a loud frantic beeping filled the air as the machines began to go crazy. Whipping his head up, his eyes widened when he saw that Dick's face was pure white, his wide blue eyes clouded in intense pain as his chest shuddered in protest. He screamed in agony as everything exploded in fiery heat.

Bruce was on his feet in an instant, quickly hovering over the boy. His hand whipped up to his com. "Flash! We need that antidote now!" He shouted.

 _Hang on! It still needs more time!"_ The other voice said desperately.

"He's _out of time!_ " Bruce screamed.

The machines flared and shrieked frantically as Dick's body finally began to give out. The boy's fingers gripped the covers as his body shuddered. Bruce wrapped his arms around the teen as he gasped in pain. Spasms coursed throughout the boy as his body convulsed, blood beginning to drip from the corner of his mouth.

"Hang on, Dick. Hang on." Bruce said, trying and failing to keep the panic out of his voice.

But the boy never heard him. All he could hear was the blood pumping in his ears. The pain made his vision blurry and his body shake. Fire coursed through his veins, burning everything it touched. His body was paralyzed. He couldn't move. He couldn't breath. He vaguely felt the blood in his throat as another cough rattled his body, the red liquid splattering the inside of the mask, not that it was doing much to help him anyway.

He felt someone grab the mask and gently lift it off of his face. His vision swam, clearing for a moment before delving back into a world of shapes and colors. His muscles ached, his bones snapped, and his chest splintered and exploded in a furious blaze of pain.

He thought he heard the sound of faint beeping in his ears. Beeping that was quick and erratic.

He shut his eyes once more and screamed in agony, unable to do anything else about the pain. Maybe if he could scream loud enough, the pain would disappear. So why wasn't it gone?

Bruce's ears rang with the sound of Dick's screams, the terrible sound surrounding him, yet still not loud enough to drown out the frantic beeping of the machines. The screams converted into pained gasps as Dick tried and failed to fill his burning lungs. His eyes fogged as the life began to wash out of him, the convulsions beginning to get weaker and weaker.

Bruce tightened his hold on the small hand, hoping to hold onto the life that was beginning to fade from it. Suddenly, he heard the door slide open as Flash zoomed into the room, a bright yellow liquid sloshing around in a vial.

The man quickly sped around the room, locating a syringe as he filled the needle with the antidote. Bruce was vaguely aware of the other Leaguers and Titans crowding around the window outside the room, desperate to see if their work would end up paying off.

Flash was next to Dick in an instant, jamming the needle into the boy's arm. It wasn't until the whole syringe was almost empty when they heard it. The one sound that broke hearts and shattered hope. That one sound Bruce had been dreading for a week.

The one long sound that was constant,...piercing,... _flat_.

Bruce's hands began to shake as the noise filled the air, the boy in his arm limp and silent, his eyes closed. He vaguely heard the syringe clatter to the ground as Flash backed up against the wall in shock, his body slowly sliding down until he hit the floor, gaze steadily frozen on the ground as he wrapped his arms around himself.

Outside, the Leaguers could only stare in shock. Superman shut his eyes tightly and slammed his fist into the wall, small pieces of debris clattering the the ground around the Kryptonian' feet. Shayera turned her head away and leaned into John, the man wrapping his arms around her as he looked away. J'onn let out a sigh and lowered his head and Diana could only stare in shock before her eyes glazed over, shutting them before they could spill.

But it wasn't just the sight inside that made their hearts ache, it was the teens that shattered them.

Starfire let out a pained sob as she crumbled to the floor, hands to her face as her body shuddered from the overwhelming amount of grief. Tears streamed down Beastboy's eyes as he turned away and wrapped his arms around the person closest to him, that person being Raven. But she merely hugged him back as she lowered her gaze, her cheeks wet and shiny. The lights over their heads sparked and exploded as her grief took hold of her powers. Cyborg turned his head away and was currently kneeling on the ground, his back to the window as he placed a hand to his face. Sam and Jazz hugged each other tightly, burying their heads in the others shoulder, and Tucker tipped his hat over his eyes to hide what he didn't want the others seeing.

The boy's face was devoid of any more color, his body still on the large white bed. Flash still hadn't moved from his spot on the wall as he shut his eyes and turned away. Bruce felt his legs buckling as he knelt down on the floor, the small cold hand still gripped tightly in his grasp. He rested his forehead on the pillow next to the teen's head. He felt the hot sting of tears rolling down his face as he kissed the boy on his forehead, shutting his eyes tightly.

He didn't know how long he had been kneeling on the ground before he began to hear the sound. It was faint, almost nonexistent. But it was there.

He quickly lifted his gaze, his heart nearly exploding.

The heart monitor was active once more, outlining the rhythm of a beating heart.

Flash gasped and was quickly on his feet. He picked up the syringe and noticed that the entire antidote had been administered. He threw a shocked smile at Bruce before zooming out of the room. Bruce could hear the Scarlet Speedster's shouts through the door, as well as the even louder one that followed as the others cheered and cried in relief and happiness.

Bruce let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and sat down on the bed. He placed his fingers on the boy's neck. He could see what the machine said but...he had to check it for himself. He had to be sure.

Sure enough, he could feel the faint beating of a weakened pulse, but still...it was there!

He let out a gasp of relief and shut his eyes. He quickly snapped back into reality as he got up and walked over to the cabinets, grabbing a fresh oxygen mask. He hooked it up to the machine and gently placed it over Dick's nose and mouth, flipping the switch. He wouldn't lose him again. He'd make sure of that.

He let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around the boy, cradling him in his grasp. He lowered his head as he rested his cheek on the boy's unruly black hair, slowly rocking the boy back and forth. _I'll won't let you fall, Little Bird._

 _Never again._


	27. Chapter 27: Bats and Birds

**Chapter 27: Bats and Birds**

* * *

The worst of the storm had passed, but the battle wasn't over, and everybody knew this.

They had almost been too late.

It had been four days, yet the boy still had not awoken. An IV drip had been hooked up to the teen, and an oxygen mask was still desperately needed. The antidote might have stopped the poison from killing him, but he wasn't out of deep water. The poison had left him incredibly weak, almost too weak to pump air into his lungs.

His fever still ran high, but thankfully not as life threatening. His breathing was almost as ragged and shaky as before, but he could at least pull oxygen into his body, which was more than they could say before. Flash had run another scan over his body, showing that the poison had left his muscles weak, and his chest and lungs severely damaged, but not unhealable. Still, it would take a while before the boy would be able to do even the simplest of tasks.

This is was made Batman furious.

His son had already been through enough, and now they were telling him it wasn't over for the boy yet? Unacceptable! Nevertheless, he did what he could to make the boy as comfortable as possible in his condition. He kept a bowl of ice water close to the bed. The wet rag that sat in the liquid was placed on his head whenever his fever began to run high, and the pile of blankets sitting by the corner of the bed were always ready.

The caped crusader had barely left the teen's room, sleeping next to the bed, ready and waiting for when his son woke up. He no longer had anymore doubt to the fact that he considered the teen his son. After almost losing the boy, he realized just how much he would be crushed if the child ever left him.

He could only hope Dick felt the same.

* * *

 **The Watchtower**

 **4:34 a.m.**

Pain.

That was all he could feel.

Well, that wasn't _entirely_ true.

He also felt sweltering heat... _Great._

Something wasn't right. Something was definitely wrong.

No. That wasn't right. It wasn't _wrong_. It was...different. Yeah, everything felt different.

It was almost as if a thick fog had been cleared from his eyes, the same fog that had been filling his head, making his thoughts heavy and hazy, clouding everything he thought about. The same fog that made him want to scream and curl up.

Well...maybe it wasn't the fog. Maybe it was the _pain_ that made him want to scream and curl up.

Yep. That was it.

His body felt heavy, like he had just run a marathon. Scratch that. Make it _ten_ marathons...on _Jupiter_. His bones ached and his muscles screamed at him. It felt as though his blood was bubbling under his skin as it swirled around him. But all of that was nothing compared to the white hot flames he felt in his chest.

It was as if raging red claws had dug into his body, cracking every rib as it grabbed his lungs and ripped at everything, leaving nothing but fire and ash in its path. He could feel the shot of agony every time his chest rose, the air that allowed him to live making him want to die.

 _Stupid irony._

His eyes slowly cracked open, the bright lights in the room quickly making him shut his eyelids again. After a few seconds, he tried again, squinting as he slowly adjusted to the luminescent lights in the room. At first, all he could make out was fuzzy shapes and blurred colors. After a few blinks, everything began to take shape.

The first thing he noticed was that his mask wasn't on his face. He narrowed his eyes, but found he was too tired to worry about it, even though he felt severely exposed without it.

He was in a large white room, bright lights shining down from overhead his bed, the other lights in the room shut off, creating a spotlight effect over him. The sound of a soft constant beeping at his side made him slowly turn his head, an action that made pain ripple down his body. His eyes landed on a heart monitor and an IV bag that stood next to the bed, wires sticking out of the machines before disappearing under the covers.

He also noticed an oxygen tank that led to a mask, which he realized was on his face. He also began to note that he had gauze wrapped around his chest and arms. He grunted softly as he twitched his fingers, pouring all his strength into raising his hand up.

Even though the limb was shaking severely, he noticed the outline of veins, which seemed redder than their usual color. Granted, the color was beginning to fade, but he could tell they were bright and vivid at one point. He also noticed they were all around his body, faded, but there. He let his arm fall weakly to the bed once more as he furrowed his brows, trying to understand why he was in what he could only assume was The Watchtower's medical wing, if memory served right. He shut his eyes and tried to remember what had happened.

But he was forced to pop his eyes open once more when he heard movement on his other side. Turning his head, he saw the figure of a man, his head turned away from the bed. But the sight of the costume he was in, as well as the build of his body was enough for him to know who it was.

Bruce.

He also took notice of the fact that the man had his cowl down as his chest rose and fell softly. His eyes widened as he gazed at the figure, the walls in his head crashing down as memories began to flood his vision.

 _The cold, damp feeling of a cell as he tried to find a way out._

 _Jolts of fear as he watched the needle move closer to his body, the green liquid swirling in the syringe._

 _A strong desire to help Vlad._

 _Searing rage as he thought of the Titans._

 _Fingers clenching when his eyes fell on the superpowered teens in front of him._

 _The sound of cracking and a grunt of pain as his staff made contact with one of his friends' shoulders._

 _Starfire pinned under him as he raised his staff over his head, intent on striking her in the heart._

 _Fighting Batman and the League, eyes burning in hatred._

 _Searing pain, sweat, fire, tears..._

 _Darkness..._

He gasped as his consciousness returned to the room he was in. He felt the cold grip of fear that clenched around his heart, freezing his throat. He quickly tried to sit up, only to cry out in pain as the cold feeling was replaced with a fiery one. A hot knife stabbed into his chest, burning his insides, his heart, his lungs. He quickly understood the need for the oxygen mask as he struggled for breath.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he noticed for the first time that he was hot...yet cold at the same time.

 _Fever._ He thought vaguely as he collapsed back into the comforter. It was then when he realized the noise of his distress had awoken the man next to him. His eyes were quickly open, scanning the room for danger. When they landed on the panting boy in the bed, he was quickly on his feet.

Bruce rushed over to the bed, placing his hand on Dick's cheek as he turned the boy's head to look at him. "Dick?" He whispered quietly.

As the teen's eyes fell on the man's face, more images began to flash in his mind.

 _"Spare us the lies!" He shouted, his eyes narrowing in hate as he stared at the group of heroes, Danny standing next to him. His eyes then drifted over to Batman, the man staring at him, a neutral expression on his face, hiding his concern._

 _"Robin, they are not lies. They are truths. Please come with us. You are not well." Diana pleaded with them, her gaze full of hesitation._

 _"Robin, listen to me. You have to fight this!" Batman said to him, his knee placed firmly on the boy's chest as he pressed the teen's back into the soggy ground._

 _"The only thing I have to fight is you!"_

 _"Robin, enough of this! You need to snap out of it! Batman screamed at him._

 _"And you need to stop talking to me!" He roared._

Bruce recoiled back in shock was he watched Dick's eyes glaze over and his breathing quicken. For a moment, he thought the boy was in pain before he noticed the tears that were beginning to roll down his face. _"B-Bruce, I-I-I'm so s-sorry."_ He cried out as all his mental barriers fell down, not having the strength to keep up the act anymore.

Bruce took a seat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around the crying teen, the sobs rattling his small body. "I-I could see everything I w-was doing, but...b-but..." He body shook as he began to release everything he had been holding in. "But I c-couldn't stop."

His mind flashed to the blood he had seen on the Leaguers, on the Titans, on his father.

It only made the tears fall faster.

"God, it was s-so _horrible, tati._ " He wept. "I w-was so _angry_. I-I was so s-scared." He cried, the mask over his face fogging up as he shut his eyes tightly, his cheeks shining as they glistened in the light. Bruce gently reached up and removed the oxygen mask from the teen's face as he pulled him closer, the boy's sobs shuddering through him. "Shh... _mica mea pasăre._ It's alright." He hushed gently, stroking the boy's hair. "Just breathe."

Dick curled his head into the man's chest, fingers gripping the black Kevlar of his suit tightly. Bruce wrapped his cape around himself and the shivering boy in his arms as he tried to calm the crying teen. "It's not your fault, Dick. Alright? It's not your fault." He whispered.

Dick shook his head. "No, it-it is. I-I wasn't s-strong enough. I wasn't a-able to fight it. I-I was weak, and m-my friends were h-hurt because of it. _Y-you_ were hurt." He sobbed. "Because I _wasn't_ strong enough!"

Bruce narrowed his eyes and gently placed his hand under the boy's chin, lifting his tear-stained face to look up at him. "Dick, listen to me right now. This is _not_ your fault. Nobody could have fought that serum. _Nobody._ Not Diana, not Superman, not even me." He explained, the child's shimmering blue eyes staring up at him. "You are _not_ weak. You've _never_ been weak. You're the strongest kid I know. In some ways, I think you're even stronger than me."

"And if anyone should be sorry, it's me, Dick." He revealed. The boy furrowed his brow in confusion as the man continued. "I-I'm sorry I couldn't stop it sooner, Dick. I let Vlad control you. I let him use you because I wasn't able to help you. I let him poison you because I _couldn't_ help you." He growled out, tightening his hold on the child in his arms. "I'm sorry, _fiul_. I'm sorry for putting you through that." He said quietly. "But I need you to understand. This _wasn't_ your fault, alright? It wasn't your fault." He sighed as he pulled the child closer, enveloping him in the safety of his hold.

Dick's shuddering breaths filled the air as Bruce continued to gently rock him back and forth, the scene reminding him of similar situations years ago, although he never knew they could ever happen again. Yet here he was, comforting a sobbing child in his arms as he gently whispered encouraging words while rocking him back and forth.

As the boy curled tighter into the man's grip, the warmth wrapped around him. For the first time in weeks, he could finally breath (even if he really couldn't). He finally wasn't afraid. Wrapped in the man's arms, he knew he was safe.

After what seemed like hours, Bruce could feel the boy's sobs slowly quieting into soft hiccups before he began to fall asleep, the exhaustion of the last few days finally registering in the teen's mind as he began to drift off in the man's warm arms.

Bruce noticed the boy go limp in his grip and held him for a few more moments before gently placing him back down onto the bed. He pulled the sheets over his shivering form and placed the oxygen mask back onto his face. But right as he began to move away, he felt a small hand weakly wrap around his own.

Dick gazed up at him with tired eyes. "Y-you'll stay, right? Y-you won't leave me? _."_

Bruce grabbed the boy's hand as he sat down once more, brushing his fingers through the teen's hair with his free hand. He let a small smile slip onto his face.

"I will never leave you, Dick. I'll always be right here."

* * *

 **Two days later**

 **6:52 a.m.**

To say the least, the Titans were pissed.

It had been two days since Robin had woken up, since they were finally able to breath in relief, yet Batman still _refused_ to let them see him. He claimed the boy wasn't strong enough for visitors, yet the Titans suspected that wasn't the whole truth. Still, they didn't disobey the orders.

After all...it was _Batman_.

So, while Sam, Tucker and Jazz worked with the Leaguers in researching more on Blood Blossoms and Zyphius Antigen, the others resorted to "relaxing" in the common room, which was basically just the room the Leaguers worked the _least_ in.

Beastboy yawned in his chair, his tired eyes awake enough to hold annoyance. "How long are we going to wait out here?" He groaned to the others. "I can't take it anymore! I want to see Robin!"

Cyborg sighed. "And you think we don't?" He asked, his voice revealing how exhausted he really was, his mental condition similar to the others in the room.

Raven lowered her hood. "You heard what Batman said. Robin isn't strong enough to see us." She tried explaining, only for Beastboy to huff loudly. "Okay, then how come _he_ gets to see him?" He asked, remembering watching Batman's form disappearing into the room on several occasions.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Robin and Batman obviously have something special. Besides, do you really want to be the one to tell Batman he can't see his son?" She asked them, the others falling silent. Starfire lifted her head, the alien staying quiet for most of the debate. "Son?" She asked quietly.

Cyborg gave a small smile. "Yeah, Star. Batman might not show much, but it's pretty obvious just how much he cares for Robin. Just look at this week. He barely leaves Robin's room." He chuckled quietly. "Those two are _the_ Dynamic Duo. Robin might have been what sparked all the other heroes out there to take apprentices, but he's always going to be _the_ original." He explained to the alien, the others around her already aware of the teen's status.

The Tameranian furrowed her brow. "So the Batman is Robin's... _father_?"

The Titans paused at this before Cyborg shrugged his shoulders. "I guess that's really up to Robin." He finally said.

Beastboy furrowed his brow as he stared at the floor, finally dragging his gaze up to look at his teammates. "R-Robin's going to be okay,...right?" He asked quietly.

The Titans fell into silence, unsure of how to answer their youngest member. Finally, Raven let out a sigh as she brushed a strand of lavender hair out of her face. "I-I don't know, Beastboy. That serum...it _did_ something." She tried explaining in a way for the boy to understand. "Batman says it drained Robin of everything."

The changeling scurried to his feet as he gazed at the others with wide, worried eyes. "But he'll get better, right? He _has_ to. He's _Robin!_ He-He always gets better." He exclaimed.

Starfire turned away and lowered her gaze, shutting her eyes tightly. Cyborg folded his arms and slumped against the wall. "Honestly, I don't even know if Robin wants to see us." He exclaimed. "He might not even remember us. Who knows what side effects that serum has on him?" He explained to them.

Starfire shut her eyes tighter before quickly rising to her feet, startling the others. "I do not care." She said firmly. "Robin is our friend. And whether he wants to see us or not, we _will_ be here for him when he is ready for us." She stated, leaving no room for argument.

The others glanced at each other for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement.

* * *

 **5:21 p.m.**

The sound of metal clattering onto the floor and a loud yelp of pain was what greeted Dick as he cracked his eyes open and turned his head. He noticed Flash rubbing his elbow in pain, a syringe filled with blood in between his fingers, the metal pan on the floor bouncing around before silencing.

Bruce cast a hard glare at the speedster, who gave a nervous smile. "Hehe, umm...I'll just..." He picked up the tray with his free hand and placed it back down onto the table before quickly zooming out of the room, not wanting to be at the receiving end of a batarang.

Bruce shook his head in annoyance before turning down to Dick, noticing the boy was now awake. The teen was gazing around groggily as he tried blinking the sleep out of his eyes. The man placed a hand on the teen's head and gently ran his fingers through his messy black hair. "Go back to sleep, Dick." He said quietly, reaching over for the iced rag, realizing the teen's head was still hot with fever.

Dick shook his head. "I've been asleep long enough." He sighed through the oxygen mask. "I should be doing something. I-I should be helping l-look for Danny." He growled out, anger coursing through him at the fact that he had left the boy in the hands of Vlad.

He tried to sit up, only to have a fiery pain stab into his chest. His eyes widened as he gasped in pain. Bruce quickly placed a hand on the teen's back and shoulder, gently pushing him back down onto the covers. "What you _need_ to do is rest. You don't even have the strength to sit up." Bruce said gently.

Dick sighed in annoyance. Already, he was tired of being confined to the bed. Nevertheless, he knew the man was right. After all, he was barely strong enough to even move, and just _attempting_ to sit up had made him see spots and want to throw up.

Bruce placed the rag onto the teen's forehead, Dick's fingers twitching as he let out a small groan, the fever beginning to make him shiver. Suddenly, his eyes popped open as he took a quick intake of air, which made his chest burn. Nevertheless, he turned to Bruce. "The Titans." He said quietly.

The man furrowed his brow. "What about them?"

Dick lowered his gaze before dragging it back up. "I-I want to s-see them."

Bruce's face hardened, his mind relying over the guilt the boy still harbored. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Dick. You're still weak. And-"

"Please." The boy said softly. "I-I just...I need t-to see them."

The billionaire hesitated for a moment before he nodded, removing the rag from the teen's head. Slowly, carefully, he helped the teen sit up slightly so as not to aggravate his chest or put him in anymore pain than he was already in. He placed a hand to his com unit and told the Titans to make their way towards the medical wing. He handed the teen his mask, only to watch as the boy shook his head.

Bruce tilted his head. "...Are you sure?" He asked softly, realizing just what the boy was deciding. Nevertheless, Dick nodded his head, his choice clear in his mind. "I-I'm sure." He said quietly.

Bruce nodded and placed the mask next to the teen, who had closed his eyes and rested his head on the pillow behind him. Bruce placed a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder, realizing how uncomfortable he must be.

Finally, he lifted his cowl over his head and walked over to the door. As they slid open, they revealed four teens anxiously waiting for him. Batman stared down at them for a moment of hesitation before stepping aside and stalking down the hallway, knowing the boy would be alright with the group. After all, they were family to him.

The first thing the Titans noticed was the condition of their friend. His face, though not as bad as before, was still noticeably pale. The faint outline of the fiery red veins could be seen around his neck and unwrapped arm. Different wires extended out from machines and hooked up to him from under the blankets, and a clear oxygen mask was covering his mouth and nose. His fingers were curling into the blankets and his face was scrunched slightly in pain. He looked...vulnerable, not at all like the image of their leader, of their friend.

The _second_ thing the Titans noticed was that the teen wasn't wearing his mask. This is was made them stop in their tracks, for they knew how important Robin's identity was to him. It was something he _never_ showed to them. At first, they wondered whether they should even be present, or if the boy realized he was mask-less. But the doubt disappeared when the teen turned his head towards them and gave a small smile from behind the clear, plastic mask.

This quickly prompted the Titans to rush towards his bed, each sporing similar looks of relief, concern and happiness as they caught sight of the smile they had all been longing to see for what seemed like lifetimes.

* * *

 **This was originally going to be longer, but I felt I let you guys wait for long enough already.**

 **I'm also really stupid. I really, really shouldn't be starting a new series, especially since I have two unfinished ones left to complete, but I just couldn't resist myself. I was dying to write it. Anyway, if any of you guys are interested in Danny Phantom and Batman/Justice League, then you should check out** ** _Under The Wings!_** **Just some food for thought.**

 **Also, it might be a while before I post anything here because my hand is kind of messed up (stupid softball) and it kind of hurts to type.**

 **So, stay tuned for the next installment of...**

 **The Ghostly Titan II: The Order of Apparitions!**


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